Harbour entrance project

Investigations to collect data on the impact of waves and currents, water depth and a survey of the spit surface have began after initial findings outlined in the Preliminary Situation Report on the Harbour Entrance.

The Whakatane District Council has over the years undertaken several investigations and many reports prepared to find solutions to the harbour entrance becoming shallow when river and sea conditions allow sand build up on the bar to occur.

‘For a long time the Council has been trying to find a sustainable solution to this ongoing  problem and these further investigations will add to our understanding and provide a sound basis for any works in the future’, says Haydn Read, the Council Director of Works and Services.

Earlier this year the Council engaged Steve Everitt of Waterline Consultants and DHI to prepare the Harbour Entrance Situation Report as a baseline to identify options and necessary investigations for the development of long-term solution.

This report has drawn the relevant information from all the numerous previous studies and reports. Discussions with local operators and harbour users have also informed this report 

The report clearly identifies gaps in the information previously collected; examples include the collection of wave and current data, grab sample data, as well as water depth (bathymetric) and a spit surface survey.

In the meantime, an open day is being organised for Wednesday 20th October at the Coastguard, Muriwai Dr, between 4pm and 7pm. There will be short presentations and opportunities to ask questions and talk to the technical staff involved in preparing the report.

An important component of the project is to undertake community engagement and listen to the views of the users, to this end Barbara Dempsey Council’s Project Manager encourages anyone who has a view on what should happen at the Harbour Entrance to come along to the open day and discuss their views with the project team. For more information please contact the Council’s Manager Community Projects, Barbara Dempsey on 07 30 60500.