Life goes on after the flood
Collingwood volunteer fire-fighters Pete Watkins and Clay Hoskin wade through the flood waters at the Collingwood Rugby ground in late December. “Despite all the flood damage to the rugby grounds and clubrooms, we have decided to move heaven and earth a
Aorere River Repair Work Passes Test
Emergency Aorere River flood protection work passed its first test when rain raised the river level again last Thursday.
Tasman District Council had started urgent work on a bend in the river after severe flooding on 28 December 2010 changed the course of the river and damaged a rock wall, threatening neighbouring properties with further flooding.
A work team cutting a new channel to redirect the river from the damaged rock wall was put under additional pressure when the Met Service issued a forecast warning of rain in the ranges flanking the Aorere Valley.
On early Thursday afternoon, a small flood (of around 10 per cent of the volume of December’s) came down the riverbed. With work still in progress, the channel successfully redirected the river away from the damaged rock wall.
Had the channel not been in place, water would have spilled over the river bank into surrounding farms and affected the work in progress.
Gary Clark, acting engineering manager at the Tasman District Council, commended the work crew. “It was a very eventful day. The team of people working on the bend in the river put in some hard yards, with no lunch break to get the work done. Without their efforts the river would have breached its banks again, flooding neighbouring property and setting back recovery work.”
Repair work on the damaged rock wall and other flood protection in the Aorere River will continue over the next few months.
