The Waiho River Bridge on the southern edge of Franz Josef township has been rebuilt and raised a number of times in the past few decades as the riverbed below builds up. Photo: LDR / Greymouth Star - Brendon McMahon
A long awaited meeting for Franz Josef area residents and ratepayers is about to be held after years of delays as the future of their community hangs in the balance.
A joint approach will be needed for the future of the West Coast tourist town and the nearby settlement of Waiho Flat, the chair of the West Coast Regional Council Peter Haddock said.
The area has been dealt a succession of blows to its long-term security in the face of storms, flooding and slips, including the March 2019 storm that destroyed the Waiho (Waiau) River bridge. And torrential rain and slips in December 2019 that closed the Haast highway at Mount Hercules, trapping nearly 1000 tourists in the village for several days.
A West Coast Regional Council warning sign on the south bank of the Waiho River, just west of the main road bridge. Motels formerly close to the sign were bought and removed by the council in 2014 due to the hazard posed by the river and risk of stopbank failure. Photo: Local Democracy Reporting/ Greymouth Star - Brendon McMahon
Haddock made the point ahead of a long-awaited meeting of the Franz Josef special rating district, scheduled for 18 December. The meeting was called after several years of delays.
The meeting would not immediately address the steps of a proposed 10-year Waiho (Waiau) River strategy, as presented in early October by his council, Haddock said.
That strategy advocates releasing the Waiho River southern bank stopbanks and to abandon the Waiho Flat area within 10 years.
It had previously been mooted by council due to the huge aggradation of the Waiho river bed and flood-risk to the nearby residents.
The strategy involves shifting up to 80 residents, abandoning about 40 homes and several large farms on Waiho Flat, as well as moving State Highway 6 south of the river.
Work is continuing to widen, raise, and extend the Waiho River northern stopbank scheme which is expected to give about two decades relief for the town of Franz Josef nearby. The abandoned red roof of the Scenic Group Mueller Wing hotel can be seen in the distance, now below the natural riverbed height. Photo: Local Democracy Reporting/ Greymouth Star - Brendon McMahon
Already on the northern side, the river bed in front of the stopbanks for Franz Josef township are a metre higher than the surrounding township land being protected.
The idea of releasing the stopbanks on the opposite side will allow the river to naturally fan out across the entire bed and decrease the aggradation rate within the current stopbanks.
The height of the NZ Transport Agency/Waka Kotahi stopbank adjoining State highway 6 south of Franz Josef graphically illustrates the hazard issue faced in the area. Photo: Local Democracy Reporting/ Greymouth Star - Brendon McMahon
Haddock said the immediate business on Monday will be the representation of the Franz Josef (special) Rating District.
The meeting would also cover off the ongoing maintenance of the rating district's assets, including the river stopbank system on both sides of the Waiho (Waiau) River.
The current rating district was formed by combining the two former districts representing south and north bank ratepayers in 2020.
This allowed for an application to the government for a jointly funded $24 million protection scheme for the area.
However, the combined new rating district has never met despite promises by council - and about half of the funding has yet to be released by the government.
On 6 October, the council presented its 10-year strategy for the whole area, based on advice from leading hydrological and hazard experts that the south bank stopbanks should be pulled back within 10 years.
Haddock said further discussion about that plan, including formulating a future funding proposal for the government, would have to be done via a new representative group in the area.
"Those decisions over the Waiho and whether it gets released to the south will not be made by the rating district but by the community, in conjunction with the regional council, Westland District, and the government," he said.
"It's a different thing altogether."
Haddock said the rating district continued to exist to maintain the existing stopbank system, out of reserves held on its behalf.
"The conversation going forward about what happens in the Waiho, and if the residents decide that in the long-term the river will be released, we will have to set up a different group to put together a proposal to the government.
"This rating district meeting really will be sorting out the new membership and a few issues.
"It hasn't had accounts, it hasn't had meetings. I know people in the community have been unhappy about it - and fair enough too."
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air