A small group of Awatoto residents are asking for help to remove the silt and protect their homes if they have to leave. Reporter Mitchell Hageman / Video Warren Buckland.
Most local councils remain firm on leaving silt clean-up on private properties in the hands of homeowners, while locations for the dumping of residential silt are still being determined in some areas.
All local councils across Hawke’s Bay, except for the Wairoa District Council, have so far left it up to homeowners to pay themselves or through insurance to clean up silt.
The Wairoa District Council has been collecting and removing the flood-affected items and silt and announced it would do so until at least Friday March 10.
“Council is working through a process to be compensated by Central Government for the cost of collecting and removing the flood-affected items and silt,” a council release said.
“There is a risk that council may have to pick up the bill for this additional collection, but we believe the benefit far outweighs the cost.”
A Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) spokeswoman said they were co-ordinating the removal of silt from farms and orchards, where they have cleared silt from within their businesses, and piled it up for collection.
The spokeswoman clarified that the HBRC only assisted with the transportation of silt away from those properties, but not the clean-up.
A Napier City Council spokeswoman said homeowners should contact their insurance provider to arrange assistance with removal or engage a contractor to undertake work on private property.
The Napier City Council was still working on securing a site for the disposal of residential silt as of Tuesday.
“In the meantime, we would ask that residents stockpile their silt on their grass berms and keep it clear of drains and roads,” the spokeswoman said.
Doug Tate, Central Hawke’s Bay District Council (CHBDC) chief executive, said that clearing silt for private homeowners isn’t a cost that should be borne by ratepayers or the community.
“Some homeowners have opted to clear silt themselves, which CHBDC have provided options to dispose of this, consistent with the regional approach being taken.”
He said Central Hawke’s Bay has not received the levels of silt that Hastings and Wairoa have experienced, with minor silt issues mainly in Waipawa as a result of the Waipawa River breaching its stopbanks in lower Waipawa.
Tate said his council was providing advice on where and how to dispose of silt for residential properties and small and medium businesses.
He said there was currently a suitable site for disposing of contaminated silt in Central Hawke’s Bay, and a separate site for uncontaminated silt.
Shovelling a pile of silt in Eskdale in the week after Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo / Paul Taylor
The HBRC spokeswoman said the council had contracted an expert to test silt samples from across the Heretaunga Plains, from the Esk Valley to Twyford and surrounding areas.
“Testing is being carried [out] to characterise the material in the silt and for possible contaminants such as horticultural chemicals, animal waste and localised oil/diesel contamination from vehicles caught up in the flooding,” the spokeswoman said.
“HBRC is confident the contamination levels are low as the silt will have been thoroughly flushed by the amount of water that was flowing. We will get the results this week.”
The HBRC spokeswoman said their silt dumping sites were for contractors only, as the logistics and health and safety protocols required if the sites were to be made open to the public were not in place.
