Thursday, October 12, 2017
THIS slip on the road leading to Bryan’s Beach was promptly coned off by the council on Monday.
Photos Ross McCullough OB3096-1
Ross McCullough
Opotiki District Council was still receiving reports of slips on Tuesday morning following a previous 24-hour period of heavy rain.
Council works manager Ian Castles said the rain caused up to 40 small slips in the Paerata Ridge, Waiotahe and Ohiwa areas.
Some of the slips were big enough to block both road lanes but most had been cleared by Tuesday after the weather front had passed.
Mr Castles said only Brown Road off Gabriels Gully Road near Waiotahe Valley School was blocked to through-traffic, but residents could still gain access from both ends.
Council, however, was still getting reports from residents of more slips that came down on Monday night and Tuesday morning and contractors worked to deal with these.
A slip on the narrow windy road near Bryan’s Beach was coned off, alerting motorists to be cautious driving in the area.
On querying what affect the latest sustained period of rain events has had on the water table throughout the district, and what further downpours would mean from a council perspective, Opotiki News was referred to a media release issued by Bay of Plenty Regional Council in August.
In it, general manager integrated catchments Chris Ingle said data from its many weather stations across the region was “well-above what is considered normal for the year” with some close to double normal rainfall.
This winter one of the wettest for a decade, he said.
Mr Ingle said groundwater experts were telling him the groundwater aquifers were fully charged, to the point that new springs were popping up in new locations that hadn’t been seen for decades.
There were reports then of farmers moving stock to stop banks for long periods to avoid low-lying and wet areas on their farms.
But with the pugging and erosion it could cause and ultimately damage to the structures of the stop banks, Mr Ingle urged farmers to keep this to a minimum.