Frank Hickmott has lived all his life in Riwaka. Photo / RNZ, Mark Papalii
By Samantha Gee of RNZ
Riwaka farmer Frank Hickmott is used to flooding, but the last few weeks have been unlike anything he’s seen before.
Hickmott has lived all his life in Riwaka, a small settlement in the Tasman District, where he farms fruit and vegetables with his brother Stewart.
Their property received another 100 millimetres of rain yesterday, which fell atop a thick layer of silt and sludge that was spread across the land earlier this month.
He said they “dodged a bullet” in the June 27 storm but, during the heavy rain two weeks later, a creek at the back of the farm became blocked and later burst, sending debris down the hillside and over part of their property.
He estimated that they received about 270mm of rain over three days from July 11.
“It was quite intrusive, because it went inside the house, which we’ve never had before, and it’s in our packing shed and our tool gear.
“We’re quite fortunate that we don’t have to dig out any fruit trees, it’s just lying on an open paddock that we grew a crop of beans in last year, so we can just avoid using that this summer, and it’ll give us time to push it out. Most of that silt is quite fertile and usable.”
Hickmott said the property often flooded when the Riuwaka River levels were high.
Although that had not been the case this time around, many residents felt the stopbanks were inadequate and that the river’s management could be improved.
The damage to their farm was worse than during ex-tropical Cyclone Gita.
“There’s certainly more debris, a lot of regenerating native debris that’s floated onto the paddocks, the odd pine log with roots on and the odd stump out of pine trees that have been milled where the ground has slumped afterwards.”
He said it was difficult to estimate the cost of the damage. Several fences had been wiped out and others damaged.
His insurance company said it would cover up to $20,000 for fencing, but that wouldn’t cover all the work that was needed.
“We’ve spent a bit on a digger clearing fences and getting the creek back in because it came fully out of its course and was running around our house for three days, so we had to divert that back into where it should be.”
Tasman District Council said that, as a unitary authority, it managed and maintained 285 kilometres of larger waterways, including the Motueka, Wai-iti, Waimea, Dove, Aorere and Tākaka Rivers.
The majority of smaller rivers and tributaries had no active management or ongoing maintenance.
However, as the recent bad weather had affected properties and land next to rivers and waterways of all sizes, it had begun a tree and debris clean-up on some of the smaller catchments, including the Pigeon Valley Stream, Eighty Eight Valley Stream, Pretty Bridge Valley Stream, Stanley Brook and others.
The clean-up would be done alongside recovery work in the large waterways.
During the recovery phase, the council said long-term commitment to river work and community collaboration would be needed to repair flood damage and make the district’s rivers more resilient to future floods.
The Government gave $100,000 to the Nelson Tasman Mayoral Relief Fund after the June 27 flood, followed by a further $300,000 after the July 11 flood, tagged to the rural sector.
The fund was open to Nelson City and Tasman District residents, ratepayers or not-for-profit organisations who had suffered financial hardship because of the floods.
Tasman District Council said the fund was now at $624,000, thanks to the Government and community donations.
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said the Mayoral Relief Panel met on Wednesday to consider and approve grants to 24 families affected by the last two storms.
The fund was not a substitute for support from insurance companies, the Natural Hazards Commission, the Accident Compensation Corporation or the Ministry of Social Development, but was intended to help with incidental costs as people recovered, he said.
It included the cost of flood-damaged items such as bedding, clothing, toys, fencing, appliances, outbuildings, paddock and crop damage, stock feed, equipment, driveways and vehicles.
The minimum grant was $200, and it could cover up to 50% of an insurance excess.
A separate Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) fund of $340,000 was available to help farmers and orchardists. People could apply to both funds for different losses.
Smith said the two funds were being co-ordinated, but the MPI fund had a separate panel with agricultural expertise.
Both mayors said anyone affected by the recent storms could apply for support until August 8.
- RNZ