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A total of $100,000 allocated by the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board to improve homeowners’ flood resilience will mostly be spent in the North Shore (Bays) subdivision, to the consternation of some members.
The money went to Auckland Council’s Healthy Waters (stormwater) division, which delegated the work to Restore Hibiscus and Bays, an environmental group that operates in both subdivisions of the local board.
It resulted in a pilot project called Green Your Stream, designed to support owners of private properties with streams on them to clear the streams and replant the banks to stabilise them; as well as collaboration and weed clearing at Te Herenga Waka o Ōrewa marae, alongside the Weiti River.
The project focused on private properties that council believed were most impacted by the flooding. These were all on the North Shore.
The stated aim was “to bring those most impacted by extreme weather events together to undertake work that will benefit themselves and those downstream; decrease sedimentation; create a natural buffer to the sides of the stream; slow the water’s passage through the catchment, decreasing pressure on stormwater bottlenecks such as piped stream sections and culverts; and increase water absorption by improving soil”.
It also involved explaining to landowners that council sees managing streams on private property as the homeowner’s responsibility.
Door knocking and letter drops promoted the project, which led to 63 homeowners in Long Bay, Browns Bay and Murray Bay signing up to take part.
Senior Healthy Waters specialist Rita Kpodonu says so far $25,000 has been spent on staff time, including door knocking, project management, stream restoration advisors and marketing. There are also costs associated with herbicides, green waste removal, tools, resources and plants.
She says that insufficient knowledge and the cost of resources may be part of the reason that private streams have not been maintained, and Green Your Stream helps fill that gap.
Kpodonu says the intention was to work through all the other areas hit by flooding, including Red Beach and Stanmore Bay catchments. However the project was more successful than expected, and the priority for the remaining money is to continue supporting those who signed up for the programme.
She says Restore Hibiscus and Bays is keen to offer this project to the Hibiscus Coast, should funding or resources become available.
“Our goal is to ensure that, once we begin, we can provide all the resources needed for the restoration work,” Kpodonu says.
When board members were updated on the pilot at a workshop on April 9, Gary Brown and Sam Mills said they were surprised and disappointed that the work had not included removing silt, particularly in flood affected areas on the Coast.
In response, Theresa Pearce of Healthy Waters’ Wai Care team said dredging was not useful for stopping flooding and that increased maintenance was in council’s Making Way for Water plan.
“Riparian planting stabilises banks,” Pearce said. “Once banks collapse, flooding increases, so [what we’ve done] is the best use of that local board money. To get machines in and clear drainage systems is very expensive, so you could only do a small amount for that money.”
Deputy chair Julia Parfitt noted that such work might also require resource consent.
Brown later reiterated that the intention was that the money be used to clear drains – the type of stormwater maintenance that the former Rodney District Council did on a regular basis.
“If you clear even one drain, such as near Stanmore Bay Boat Club, it improves the whole network,” he said. “I understand the importance of planting banks, but we had contractors prepared to dredge drains at minimal cost in our area.
“I’m a bit miffed that hasn’t happened. We’ve allocated a further $100,000 next year, as flood resilience is a top priority for the local board. I am looking forward to the accountability of the money spent so far to guide us in future.”
