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A campaign to raise $4 million to dredge a navigable channel in the Mahurangi River is turning to the public for support.
Mahurangi River Advisory Board chair Penny Webster says local service clubs – Lions and Rotary – are right behind the project and have already assisted with some funds in support of the consent process. The Rodney Local Board has also contributed funding, but the trust hopes the public will support the project by donating to its recently launched givealittle page.
“The river is needed to see Warkworth grow as a top tourist destination and resource for all to enjoy,” Mrs Webster says. “There will be many benefits from seeing it navigable again.”
Auckland Council has granted the Mahurangi River Restoration Trust a 33-year resource consent to dredge the river, from the town basin to Dawsons Creek. The dredged material will be disposed of on low-lying farmland along the river or used to rebuild areas of the riverbank to enhance public access.
The goal is to create a 15-metre wide channel, which would be 1.5 metres deep at low tide and allow boats all-tide access.
The amount of silt in the river has been a long-standing issue, which led to the establishment of the Friends of the Mahurangi in the mid-1970s.
More recently, concern has been raised about the future of the restored scow Jane Gifford in Warkworth, with its operating hours already curtailed because of the limited tidal access.
Mrs Webster says the dredging project has an environmental focus, but is also aimed at making the river a focal point for the town and surrounding region, similar to Whangarei Basin. It is envisaged that once the river is dredged, ferries could start running from Warkworth to Auckland.
