Workers clear mānuka trees toppled by heavy rain at Opanuku Stream in Henderson, on 24 May, 2024. Photo: RNZ / Maia Ingoe
The government has topped up Auckland Council with $2 million to accelerate the clearance of debris leftover after Cyclone Gabrielle from streams around the city.
The funding supports $6m from the council to get started on clearance work ahead of winter storms and the council's 10-year 'making space for water' flood risk reduction work programme.
On Friday, Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell announced the funding alongside Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown at the Opanuku Stream in Henderson, where work to clear mānuka trees toppled in heavy rain just five days earlier was taking place.
Mitchell said waterways had caused anxiety for residents in West Auckland.
"As we come into the winter season, we're gonna continue to be hit by weather events. For people's peace of mind, it helps a lot to know there's substantive work to clear those waterways."
Of the government's contribution, $1.4m will fund the clean-up of high priority waterways still blocked with debris from last year's extreme weather events.
More than 650 blockages were found in Auckland's waterways after the Auckland Anniversary weekend floods and Cyclone Gabrielle, with more than 100 of them critical.
As well as slit and downed trees, drone surveying of the streams found shipping containers, gas bottles, and cars blocking waterways.
Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell made the announcement in Henderson on Friday, alongside Mayor Wayne Brown. Photo: RNZ / Maia Ingoe
Mitchell said the clean-up work prevented worse flooding for communities in flood-prone areas, like many households along Opanuku stream.
"This is preventative. This is mitigation work without a doubt. You can see just being here today, the size of the logs and the debris that's being taken out of the waterways," Mitchell said.
"But, I recognise that it's got to be an ongoing piece of work
"We are a country that is going to continue to be hit by weather events. We have to continue to plan and mitigate."
Mayor Wayne Brown said the debris should have been cleared a long time ago.
"Prevention is better than cure. A thousand dollars worth of cleaning out, preventing a million-dollar failure of having to replace a house, is a pretty good investment," he said.
The funding aims to speed up work taking place in 19 locations which the council has deemed high-priority.
Those areas include Kumeū River, three sites across Oakley Creek, Wairoa River, Freyberg Place, and Opanuku Stream.
Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell (right) announced $2 million for Auckland's clean-up from extreme weather events alongside Mayor Wayne Brown (left) at the Opanuku Stream in Henderson on 24 May, 2024. Photo: RNZ / Maia Ingoe
More than 200 houses were flooded around Opanuku and Waimoko streams in Henderson during last year's weather events.
While there has been a number of debris removal projects, new debris piles and blockages continuously build up from loosened trees and vegetation.
"The more stuff you take out, the less that gets blocked up at the next worst place, which typically would be a bridge," Brown said.
The $2m includes $400,000 for community-led clean-ups, and $200,000 will also go to a marketing campaign to encourage residents to take steps to reduce flooding risk where they live and prepare for major events.
"Part of that $2 million in funding, is actually going towards a fund that communities can apply to to run their own projects, because often the communities know best in terms of where the water is going to go and what they want to prioritise," Mitchell said.
"[The marketing campaign is about] educating people on how to live in flood prone zones, where not to live, what things you can do," Brown said.
"It's a community thing as well - council just doesn't do everything, people have got to think, what are the things you can do around your own house to make yourself safer?"