Bar opening at Wairoa River: Forecast for rain prompted early attempt this week amid spotlight on June flooding

An aerial view of the lower part of Wairoa township and the Wairoa River mouth and bar, 10 days after the floods. Photo / Paul Taylor

Work to open the bar at the Wairoa River mouth went ahead as a precaution this week, with forecasts of heavy rain for this weekend.

A contractor was given the go-ahead by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council to start work on Tuesday to make a new opening in the bar at the river mouth.

Forecasts have now eased substantially for Hawke’s Bay.

As such, a new opening had not been created as of Friday morning, as river conditions could not support it.

Pryde Contracting had completed all the necessary preparatory work in case a new opening was possible and required.

The bar at the river mouth has been in the spotlight since June 26 floods that saw the Wairoa River overflow - amid torrential rain - and flood about 120 homes in lower Wairoa township.

Long-term residents and the town’s mayor criticised the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council for not starting work early enough to open the bar on that occasion, to allow the water to escape and potentially prevent the flooding.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council manages the river and river mouth and gives the go-ahead for the opening of the bar.

A heavy rain watch is in place for northern parts of the country for Friday night and Saturday morning and rain is also expected in Hawke’s Bay over that period, and for much of Saturday, but to a lesser extent than initially forecast.

“There is rain on the way [for Hawke’s Bay] but it is unlikely to reach any sort of rain warning criteria,” MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said.

“[Saturday] will be a wet day but luckily not as bad as it could have been.”

He said earlier in the week the forecast “was a bit of a moving beast”.

“Earlier in the week it looked like it could have been a lot worse around Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.

“Luckily it is staying a bit further away than what was originally predicted.”

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.