Posted: 23 August 2006
Meeting to discuss Omapere/Opononi erosion
Concerned locals and experts are to gather in the Hokianga in a bid to try to find workable solutions to erosion that has eaten away more than 20 metres of the Omapere foreshore since the 1960s.
A 12-strong group – the Hokianga Harbour Foreshore Restoration Society – was formed late last year after a single storm eroded up to four metres of foreshore at Omapere within just 48 hours.
Society Chairman John Klaricich says after a submission to the Northland Regional’s Long Term Council Community Plan, the society was recently granted $25,000 to help develop a coastal hazard management strategy for the length of the Omapere-Opononi foreshore.
With the public’s support, the society hopes to within the next two years implement a staged programme to help protect land and infrastructure in the area while ensuring the foreshore remains available for recreational use.
Mr Klaricich says the society is hoping for a good turnout to a Friday September 8 public meeting at the Opononi RSA Hall to both outline a number of potential management options and seek community feedback on them.
He says over the years a number of attempts – some of them unauthorised – have been made in a bid to halt erosion that continues to threaten public and private property in the area. (In one part of Omapere, the sea has eaten away an estimated 20 to 22 metres of foreshore since 1961.)
However, the formation of the society last year had marked a turning point in the way the local community dealt with the problem.
Mr Klaricich says among a range of options to be discussed at the upcoming meeting are:
Doing nothing and allowing nature to take its course
Relocating some at risk buildings
Removing/retaining an Omapere boat ramp which may be contributing to the problem
Hard engineering options (including building groynes/rock walls)
A combination of hard engineering options and ‘soft’ solutions like beach renourishment (topping up the beach with fresh sand from elsewhere in the harbour)
“There are a number of implications associated with each of the options, including costs, environmental impacts and effects on public and private property. However, the nature of the situation has now reached a point where a co-ordinated approach is needed, involving the society, the wider community and local government.”
Mr Klaricich says a survey designed to gauge public support for the various options will be distributed at the 10.30am September 8 meeting.
“This feedback is extremely important to us and it will help give invaluable direction to the Hokianga Harbour Foreshore Restoration Society as the coastal hazard management strategy is developed.”
Quotes have been sought from independent coastal engineers and a preferred consultant has already been identified to help develop the strategy.
Depending on available funding – and the options affected landowners and the wider community favour – Mr Klaricich says the society hopes to be in a position to begin physically tackling the erosion within the next 12 to 24 months.