The Waihī Beach Storm Water Action Team (Swat) has regrouped after the Waihī Beach flood in May to bring the town’s stormwater issues to the forefront once again.

Waihī Beach was hit by devastating floods on May 29, which tore through properties, causing damage and multiple evacuations.

The same thing happened in 2012 and 2013, which prompted a small group of concerned residents to organise a public meeting and meet with the Western Bay of Plenty District Council utilities team.

Ten years on, the group has had to reform and kickstart a new campaign to make Waihī Beach stormwater issues its top priority, especially after three flooding events this year.

Swat organised a public meeting last Sunday and attended the council-organised information session last Monday. The group also presented at the following Waihī Beach Community Board meeting.

After two years of consultation with council, “hope was on the horizon”, says Swat member Susan Hope.

“Measures were put into a 10-year plan. Two Mile Creek was to have a culvert, the dam was to be upgraded and water released before predicted weather events, Darley Drain was to be upgraded, pumps in high-risk locations were considered, drains were to be regularly cleaned. Upper catchments attenuation was discussed.”

But few of these measures were put in place, she says.

 “The May flood was caused by the same issues back in 2012 and 2013 with the added burden of increased development and infill housing with little or no update to ageing and inadequate infrastructure.”

Swat spoke of their concerns at the recent meetings once again, discussing problems and solutions.

“We do not wish a repeat of the processes over the last 10 years that have seen projects diluted, deferred or simply forgotten. These deferrals have resulted in a lot of unnecessary suffering for our community,” Sue says.

Swat members worry it’s a matter of time before there will be a fatality.

Swat made recommendations: regular maintenance of drains, looking into possible upper catchment areas and better management of the dam.

Deputy CEO and general manager infrastructure Gary Allis says they are committed to reprioritising upcoming capital projects to make progress on the most pressing projects in Waihī Beach.

He says there is $19.67 million in the Long Term Plan 2021-31 set aside for the key projects regarding Waihī Beach flooding issues.

These include Two Mile Creek bank protection and upper catchment attenuation, Darley Drain upper catchment attenuation or stormwater re-diversion, One Mile Creek improved flow path and Waihī Beach dam upgrade and increase to stormwater capacity.

Work will start in the next 12 months.

“These works should help reduce the frequency of flooding but are unlikely to eliminate all flooding. In particular it is unlikely that these works would have addressed the flooding that was experienced on May 29 event, due to the intensity of that event,” Gary says.

”This is why we strongly encourage property owners to raise their dwellings above the flood level within the lower parts of the catchment (particularly Marine Ave/Wallnutt Ave area). We will waive the resource consent and building consent processing fees for anyone in the flood zone who wants to raise their home.”

Waihī Beach dam improvements project was awaiting new dam legislation that was expected from central government.

“We didn’t want to undertake works, knowing the new legislation was coming and would change requirements and we’d have had to do the job twice at considerable expense. The legislation has now been adopted and council can begin design work on the dam improvements,” Gary says.

Two Mile Creek runs through private property and council must work with private landowners which has taken some time and proved challenging, he says. Erosion protection works are now beginning.

The information session was productive, Sue says, and they are optimistic for progress for the community. Council engineers will be working with Swat and the community board to form a community liaison group to consult on stormwater issues.