The article headlined “Dam acted as designed in storm” (Katikati Advertiser, June 29) is a Q&A with Western Bay of Plenty District Council. It contains a number of factual errors.
According to the council’s web page “When weather conditions for moderate to heavy rain are forecast within a 24-hour period,it is essential for the reservoir to be partially emptied to prevent spillover. Under the management procedure, the pond penstock valve is half-opened to drain the water in advance of the rainfall. The valve remains open during the rainfall event.” That did not happen.
The article claims “had the dam been lowered, it would have taken an additional 10 minutes before the dam started overflowing. However, the same volume would still have been released through the One Mile Creek catchment”. That is true, but if the valve had been opened the day before there would have been more storage available and the same volume would have been spread over a longer period. That would have reduced the amount of damage done downstream.
The article also claims: “There was no opportunity to lower the dam before/on May 29 because we received no formal heavy rain warning for the area prior to the event.” That is not correct. Council’s Facebook page carried a heavy rain warning on May 28, the day before the storm.
- Western Bay of Plenty District Council declined an offer to respond.
So-called modern technology has been shown to fail in recent weather emergencies. Our volunteer emergency workers may not have cellphones in their pockets, as they usually leave workplaces to attend events. A siren lets everyone know.
Barbara Saies
Whakamarama
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