Felled trees over Waipawa River help in floods

Trees that have been pushed over next to the Waipawa River by Hawke's Bay regional council.

It may look destructive, but Hawke's Bay regional council has assured that pushing over trees along the Waipawa River will help with flood protection.

Concerned CHB residents took to social media last week to post photos of numerous trees that had been pushed over or felled along the river's banks, which they complained was restricting access.

A council spokesman said it was part of an ongoing flood protection works programme.

"I appreciate it's not pretty in the short term, but the willows will re-sprout quickly and there will be some further tidying up done by the [council's] works group to enable river access to swimming spots."

The spokesman explained that the trees were pushed over to enable new growth to sprout, which would further protect the riverbanks.

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He said the felled trees would be made available to the community for firewood, and some screen planting would occur next winter as part of the programme.