31 January 2023
Media: NZME (Rotorua Daily Post and BOP Times)
Topic: Post-rainfall clean-up
Enquiry
*NOTE: this request went to all councils in the BOP
Please forgive the group email. Understandably, each of you will be busy with clean-up after the weekend which I'd like to find out more information on please.
Western Bay team, I appreciate my colleague Megan is following up on No. 4 Bridge so there's no need for too much detail on that for me in this query (other than the one specified), thanks.
Can you please tell me:
- What sort of clean-up is underway today and how long is this expected to take?
- what sort of damage are you seeing (from the weekend's weather/flooding) and what is needed to clean this up or fix?
- at this stage, how much is the clean-up from the weekend's weather/flooding expected to cost (rough ballpark figure is fine)? Please list the costs of any particulars expected to be of significance to remedy (ie WBOPDC - No. 4 Bridge, TCC - Tauranga/Wharepai Domain after One Love movements) and why.
- NZTA/WBOPDC - I've been told the integrity of Wairoa Bridge has been undermined by the flooding/high level of Wairoa River. Is this true? Or is the bridge being assessed for damage as a result of the flooding/high river level? And what change, if any, has there been to the structural integrity of this bridge and what does this mean?
- how is the bad weather forecast for Wednesday and Thursday expected to influence clean-up efforts today? (if at all)
Response
From DCE - Infrastructure and Environmental Solutions, Stavros Michael:
What sort of clean-up is underway today and how long is this expected to take?
You can find the latest callout jobs that our contractors are attending today here.
The priority for contractors today is to get the three remaining closed roads open, as well as clearing as many debris / slip sites as possible ahead of the next round of forecast heavy rain.
The three remaining road closures in place are:
Dods Road (Closed due to a large slip)
Manawahe Road (Closed due to a large slip)
Te Kopia Road (Closed due to a large slip)
What sort of damage are you seeing (from the weekend's weather/flooding) and what is needed to clean this up or fix?
The most common callouts over the long weekend were in relation to surface flooding, slips and fallen trees / branches. These are all listed in our news item linked above.
Contractors and staff who have worked throughout the weekend have attended the most urgent jobs in terms of risk to public safety, and are working hard to complete as much as they can before tomorrow.
At this stage, how much is the clean-up from the weekend's weather/flooding expected to cost (rough ballpark figure is fine)? Please list the costs of any particulars expected to be of significance to remedy (ie WBOPDC - No. 4 Bridge, TCC - Tauranga/Wharepai Domain after One Love movements) and why.
Rotorua has experienced a significant level of rainfall over the weekend (some 10% of the total annual average). Although there has been significant pressure on our public infrastructure, we did not experience a significant amount of damage to private property compared to other areas in the Bay of Plenty. The cost to address the impacts of the event and to ensure public safety would largely be staff / contractor time attending jobs over the long weekend, exceeding our normal business as usual work. The accurate costs of both the response and restoration is not yet known, but it is expected to be significant.
NZTA/WBOPDC - I've been told the integrity of Wairoa Bridge has been undermined by the flooding/high level of Wairoa River. Is this true? Or is the bridge being assessed for damage as a result of the flooding/high river level? And what change, if any, has there been to the structural integrity of this bridge and what does this mean?
N/A
how is the bad weather forecast for Wednesday and Thursday expected to influence clean-up efforts today? (if at all)
As mentioned above, the priority for contractors today is to get the three remaining closed roads open, even as a temporary measure, to reinstate access to affected residents. Contractors are also clearing as many debris / slip sites as they can and ensuring the functionality of our drainage systems ahead of the next round of forecast heavy rain.
Having effectively responded to the weekend event we are also preparing to activate our emergency response system in case the forthcoming event triggers a wider impact on our services. Our primary focus will be to protect the community’s safety and minimise damages to public and private assets as much as possible