New milestone in Piako River mouth stopbank project

A new milestone has been reached in Waikato Regional Council’s Piako River mouth right stopbank asset rationalisation project.

The project seeks to replace three old floodgates near their end of life with one, while also creating a shorebird habitat and a pond for fish life (tuna/eels).

The latest milestone is the installation of a culvert, 4m wide x 2.5m high x 18.6m long and weighing 14.7 tonnes, which will connect new drainage from the south to the new pond and floodgate structure, which has yet to be built.

The drains will move excess water from the land through the pond and into the Piako River.

This project was started in 2020 after getting approval of $1.92m in funding from Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit.

The site was once paddocks that had become inundated by the sea after a king tide burst through a private stopbank. It was being used by shorebirds for foraging and roosting on old farm equipment before being purchased by the council for this project.

So far, the council has:

• repaired the stopbank breach
• removed mangrove seedlings from the new shorebird habitat area
• removed the old farm infrastructure and used sediment from the site to create more natural raised roosting areas in the habitat area
• excavated drains to move excess water
• excavated the pond to support fish life year round
• created new stopbanks and moved a stopbank
• put in the culvert.

Read more about the project here: https://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/council/about-us/shovel-ready-projects/piako-river-mouth/

And about the shorebird habitat area here: https://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/story-hub/keith-woodley/

Photo: Installation of the culvert blocks.