Council, community collaboration key to solving flooding problems in Nūhaka

Resident Gordon Preston points to backed-up water on drains heading toward the Nūhaka River from under Opoutama Road. Wairoa Star picture

Drainage and flooding issues in Nūhaka village need a collaborative response and Wairoa District Council and Hawke’ Bay Regional Council say they are committed to finding solutions.

The two authorities recently met with around 100 local people and sent a clear message of “together we are stronger”.

Residents shared their stories of Cyclone Gabrielle and early November flooding, with many properties being hit twice.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little acknowledged the people of Nūhaka and the rest of the district had been through a lot because of the extreme weather events, and the two councils were there to listen.

They had been on the ground looking at the flooding that had  impacted Kahungunu Marae, the original Nūhaka School and then the LDS Chapel, to which the school had relocated.

Locals offered solutions.

Many said they had been flagging the drainage and flooding problems for decades, and even when there was a response, the work was not getting done.

They encouraged the local authorities to open, widen and deepen drains and culverts, realign waterways, reduce angles, clear waterways of debris and listen to local knowledge.

Other acknowledged issues included keeping the Nūhaka River mouth open, that the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council had inherited former Hawke’s Bay Catchment Board problems — particularly around areas built on flood plains — and that a whole catchment approach was needed.

Authorities were also urged to make contact with their contractors to ensure contracted work was being completed in an efficient and streamlined way.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council chief executive Nic Peet said the next steps were to work together and get solutions in place.

He described the drainage assets as a mixture of ownership between private landholders and the two councils, KiwiRail and Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency.

“We need to pull all parties together and utilise local knowledge, combined with engineering expertise.”

Dr Peet suggested a New Year timeframe, which the community baulked at, while Mr  Little urged the community to identify their top three priorities to enable immediate work to be done.

Mr Little said they sympathised with the community and he pointed out that the councils were at Nuhaka to listen.

He noted the absence of representatives of  KiwiRail and Waka Kotahi.

Central government had turned the funding tap off for more than 30 years, he said, and that was one of the reasons why they were in this position.

“There is a lot of work to do and Wairoa District Council will try its best and work with other stakeholders.”

Locals were encouraged to feed information through Nūhaka Emergency/Resilience Plan Project coordinator George Rarere.

In closing, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council chair Hinewai Ormsby said the relationship between the two councils had never been stronger.

“We know that together we are stronger and we need the other players, KiwiRail and Waka Kotahi, here, too, as they are part of the solution.

“We are committed to working together and identifying short-, medium- and long-term solutions.

“We will come back to you and we will make sure things change.”