Hawke’s Bay Regional Council in New Zealand is reviewing an action plan from Eastland Group outlining the steps it will take to resolve the discharge of sediment from the Waihi Dam into the Waiau River.
The dam has been discharging silt into the Waiau River since before Christmas after a sluice gate was damaged in a storm late last year. HBRC issued an abatement notice on Christmas Eve and reissued it on the 6th of January requiring the gate to be closed, but the damage to the gate is preventing it being fully closed.
HBRC Group Manager Resource Management Iain Maxwell says Council staff are currently reviewing Eastland Group’s plan for resolving the issues at the dam. HBRC has engaged specialist dam engineering company, DamWatch to provide advice on the options Eastland Group is proposing.
He says any resource consents needed for the work to get underway will be processed under urgency, with the aim of having the sluice gate closed as soon as possible.
