HBRC erosion minimisation project to protect Waipawa riverbanks uses concrete akmons, earthworks and rail groynes to redirect the river away from the banks. Photo / Supplied
HBRC erosion minimisation project to protect Waipawa riverbanks uses concrete akmons, earthworks and rail groynes to redirect the river away from the banks. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand's "archaic" approach to river management will hinder the region's climate resilience, says a freshwater advocate, despite new government funding towards a project in the heart of Central Hawke's Bay.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council says an erosion minimisation project to protect Waipawa riverbanks is on track thanks to the Government's shovel-ready Covid-19 Response and Recovery funding.
The project uses concrete akmons and rope, earthworks and rail groynes to redirect the river away from the banks.
Minister for Economic and Regional Development Stuart Nash said the work will help building the region's long-term climate resilience, while also supporting local economy.
"Building resilient communities is a priority for us, and our funding across the country including this project is supporting communities to adapt to climate change."
HBRC chief executive James Palmer said the Waipawa River erosion control is the first of a raft of projects to kick off in the region supporting local employment.
"The riverbank provides protection to the bridge and the road leading up to it, but is currently eroding," he said.
Palmer said the project has already seen the creation of two new roles in project planning and stakeholder engagement and construction.
However, Forest and Bird regional conservation manager Tom Kay says putting concrete blocks and wire cables in the river is not enough to make the region more resilient against climate change.
Kay said it may provide time before the bank erodes to the road, but the river will get the better of the engineering in the end.
"We know that trying to reinforce a riverbank just creates a space for erosion elsewhere – usually on the other side of the river or downstream," he said.
"We also know that rivers eventually erode around the sides and base of these sorts of reinforcement – this project won't provide long-term resilience."
The national river managers on a site visit in front of a row of akmons. Photo / Supplied
HBRC group manager asset management Chris Dolley said the work forms part of the Upper Tukituki scheme, where HBRC has obligations to provide flood control, protect productive land and infrastructure within the scheme boundary.
"Any changes to scheme outcomes will need to be done with community consultation," he said.
He added the area has been monitored for 15 years with relation to erosion, but the soft solutions used have not been successful in stabilising the location.
Kay said local council need to change the way they think about rivers.
"Unfortunately, there's numerous similar projects around the country claiming to provide climate resilience – but it's simply not true," he said.
"The reality is rivers are most stable when they are given room to move – when they can safely flood and dissipate their energy and can adjust their course within their channel.
"Aotearoa's approach to river management is archaic – we're still trying to contain rivers or put them in fixed channels."
The project is one of four partially fund through the Provincial Development Unit. It is also part-funded by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency senior network manager Larry Weller said their partnership with HBRC identified the "significant risk and the accelerating nature of the erosion".
An assessment of environmental effects was undertaken to minimise impact on birdlife, fish and vegetation.
