Money for silt removal in Wairoa running out

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Wairoa is still inundated with woody debris from Cyclone Gabrielle but the money needed to pay for its removal is running out.

The Silt Recovery Taskforce has moved close to 900,000 cubic metres of silt around Hawke’s Bay, completing more than half of the 977 logged jobs in the process.

However, Silt Recovery Taskforce lead Darren de Klerk says unless more money comes in by the end of October, work will stall again.

“Without confirmation of more funding we will find ourselves at a standstill again in a few weeks, which means we’ll likely have to wind down the operation due to having no funds,” says Mr de Klerk.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said in the Wairoa district, around 20,000m3 of woody debris material has been stockpiled on the beaches and reserves.

“The recovery work to date has prioritised key recreational areas along the coastline, river mouths, beaches and bridges. This recovered material needs to be either burnt, shredded or transported to a dumpsite to complete the operation; however, additional external funding is needed to complete this work.”

Mr Little said large stretches of the Wairoa district coastline remain inundated with woody debris, which, if left, will likely remobilise and cause further problems to the beaches, river mouths and infrastructure.

“Completing the removal of woody debris now will assist in mitigating further debris issues, and I urge the government to provide funding for this additional but vital work. People have a right to access their beaches and waterways for recreation and gathering of kaimoana and this needs to be further recognised by the government.”

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council chair Hinewai Ormsby says finding more money for the Taskforce was a high priority.

“We want to reassure the community that we are listening, and we know they are hurting and are concerned about the funding of the taskforce. We know that the Silt Recovery Taskforce mahi is far from done. We asked for $200 million in March, and estimate we still need $70 million to complete the work.

“We appreciate the money the Government has given us to date for this important mahi, but we see the reality ahead of us and are advocating for more funding after the election,” said Ms  Ormsby.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Recovery Agency (RRA) chief executive Ross McLeod said securing further, ongoing funding for silt recovery remained a priority.

“In recent visits to Hawke’s Bay, ministers and other central Government representatives were able to view silt removal operations in action, helping to demonstrate the critical importance of keeping this highly valued, productive land restoration programme running through the planting season and beyond.”

Mr de Klerk said they were hearing from the community the amount of help still needed in the rohe.

“This work is critical for the recovery of our economy and getting our land back into production. We will continue to lobby Government after the elections to get more help for Hawke’s Bay.

“We estimate the money we have left will allow us to complete approximately 50 further collections by the end of October, as well as manage our sites. Applications for collection requests closed on October 6 with 647 jobs logged for silt collection and 330 jobs logged for wood and waste debris collections.”

In all, 440 jobs are left in the system, with an estimated 1.2 million m3 of silt and debris to be cleaned up. The taskforce has recovered over 140,000 tonnes of woody debris and processed approximately 60,000m3 of waste debris.

“The risk of not continuing the work will be widespread and we fear will impact our communities for some time – including the delay for landowners getting their land back into production, loss of jobs from our contractors, and dust which is a risk now and will only worsen heading into an El Nino summer.

“We hope to be able to continue to manage the dust risk through continued silt removal and controlled management at deposit sites along with controls like seeding or sowing land and watering down hotspots to minimise community impacts.”