Kopane Bridge construction

For many years the constriction caused by the Kopane Bridge over the Oroua River has set the level of flood protection afforded to this area. The Regional Council has recently acquired the consents and funding to replace the old Kopane Bridge with a new bridge and to realign the Rongotea Road.

At present there is a low spot in the flood protection work just up river from the bridge so that over-topping of the banks happens in a controlled manner. Excess flows are diverted overland to the Taonui Basin. Once the work is completed the potential level of flood waters in the Basin will be reduced.

The project is costing $4.3M and is expected to be completed by April 2012.

Controller's Forum

The annual Controller's Forum was held yesterday at Manawatu District Council. This was an excellent opportunity for the Local and Group Controllers from the Group to get together with the EMOs and discuss current issues. We covered all of the topics mentioned in the earlier post about the forum... and had the advantage of having activated over the weekend.

A major item covered that was not on the original list was an update of the flood plain mapping and flood forecasting work that is being undertaken by Horizons Regional Council. Jeff Watson provided participants with a good overview of these two significant projects (worth around $2.8M so far). Jeff also gave us an insight into the potential future use of the data using WaterRide software recently purchased by the Council.

General feedback at the conclusion of the Forum was that it had been a worthwhile day for learning and networking. We should consider running a couple per year.

Barrier training

The Foxton Beach flood barrier was erected last night by the local NZ Fire Service crew. This is the second time the crew has been out to practice setting the barrier up. There are still a few improvements that can be made to the barrier itself and the suggestions of the local Fire crew have helped to build capability in this area.

The barrier (which looks like a big white sausage) is designed to be erected during high flow or storm surge events that will push river levels up to the stopbank. There is a short section of bank that is lower than the rest to make provision for the road. This section is blocked off by the water filled barrier to complete the flood protection works as required. Drivers could still get past given the firm ground conditions last night and the low slope of the surrounding stopbank.

It took the crew about 40 minutes to deploy and fill the barrier with about 30,000l of water. Well done guys.