The lowered river mouth crest at the end of Kopu Road Photo: Supplied / Hawke's Bay Regional Council
A new approach to quickly opening up the flood-prone Wairoa River to the sea has been put in place.
Locals blamed the Hawke's Bay Regional Council for not opening a channel in the Wairoa river bar in a devastating flood in mid-2024. It caused $40m damage and flooded 400 properties.
The council said engineers had tapped local knowledge to come up with the new approach which was now in effect.
It would maintain a lower rivermouth "crest shaped like a funnel at the end of Kopu Road that enabled the mouth to be opened more quickly ahead of any heavy rain forecast.
It was introduced last month and maintenance was most recently done two weeks ago.
Regional councillor Di Roadley said what had been created was "like a plug that can be washed away or removed", and removing it made for a much smaller job for the contractor than before.
"By preparing early we can act faster when conditions change," she said in a statement.
"The new system also helps reduce flood risk for the community and ensure safer working conditions for our contractors."
It was reassuring to locals.
"There are people who are still feeling vulnerable and who are still putting their lives back together from recent flooding over recent years," Roadley told RNZ.
"However, this is a... pragmatic step looking to bring them some comfort and some reassurance that we're doing what we can."
Wairoa-raised Māui ki Te Raki Councillor Michelle McIlroy said the approach combined the Kihitu whānau's generational mātauranga about the rivermouth with the practical experience of Pryde Contracting and council experts.
Roadley said attention now turned to getting a permanent solution in place at the rivermouth but this was a big job dependent on nailing down central government funding.
They had already had full Crown funding of $70 million to build a 190m wide, 1.1km long floodway at North Clyde. It was envisaged as a controlled breakout point for the river during very high floods, but meantime dry and grass covered.
"The spillway at North Clyde is locked and loaded ready to go," said Roadley.
Roadley said they are just waiting on the final consents so they can begin in the first quarter next year.
"We are probably the only community in the whole of New Zealand who's been 100 percent funded for our flood mitigation work. And so we're incredibly grateful."
They might need another $20m for the lasting solution at the rivermouth, which was at the early design stage.
Roadley said even if regional councils disappeared under government reforms, the work should continue.
"So, we're just working out the how and the logistics of bringing it through. And the regional council, if it's a different shape, so be it ... we will be there, regardless."
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