Treaty of Waitangi Breaches The Waingongoro River – Part Two From our home on the hill at Waimarama I came to appreciate that the Waingongoro River was not always benign. I experienced three major floods firstly in 1959 again in 1974 and more recently in 2011. In all three instances the Waingongoro flooded the plain and we had flood affected people staying in our home. After the flood of 1959, the HB Catchment Board decided to insert a culvert in to the main flow of the Waingongoro river. Alongside they created an overflow. Situated just upstream from the Marae; it was intended that the culvert would restrict the flow at times of flooding and the excess water would be diverted in to the overflow and on to join up with the Totara stream. In 1974 there was another catastrophic flood. The culvert blocked and the main flow was diverted down the overflow channel. A smaller reduced flow continued to flow past the Marae. No remedial work was done at that time to revert the flow back to its original course. This was the start of the mean years The flow past the Marae continued to lessen with each successive flood or abnormal high flow further degrading the system and finally there was no flow past the Marae at all. This happened over a period of five to seven years. The Waimarama Maori Committee had alerted the council of what was happening and had expressed their concerns many times. There is documentation suggesting that something was considered but it was not implemented and further degradation occurred. Final outcome was to just accept that the river now flowed through the overflow channel. I remember meeting with members of the Hawkes Bay Regional Council. They were prepared to do the remedial work but we would first have to front up with a considerable amount of money. Money we did not have. Further to our problems we no longer had a water supply to the Marae. By this time the Hastings District Council had a piped water supply to the village settlement and had extended this to the local school. We asked to be added on to that supply; it was agreed but the supply was intermittent unreliable and we were being metered unmercifully. A decision was made to sink a well and look for an alternative supply. At great cost we drilled for and found water, installed an electrical pump system to fill a large concrete tank and had to install another pressure pump that would deliver water to all outlet points throughout the Marae. This was satisfactory for about another 5 years but the well dried up and we were told that the underground reservoir from which we were pumping the water had dropped below our uptake point. The situation would not get better as the system was no longer replenishing itself as the Waingongoro River no longer flowed over the replenish points. We ended up by having to go back on to the Hastings District Council Supply; they have dealt with some of the supply problems but we are still being metered. After having agitated so long for the return of our river we were stunned to see that in 1978 the Hastings District Council applied to the Hawkes Bay Regional Council for a permit to take water from the Waingongoro River, at a point above the diversion, to top up existing water supply to the village. The Waimarama Maori Committee opposed the application on the grounds that there was an outstanding grievance that had not been resolved. Despite our opposition the Hawkes Bay Regional Council granted the application. We then decided to hire legal representation and appeal to the Environment Court about the granting of the Permit. This was an extraordinary decision at the time as it raised our concerns to another level and we were not all that financial. The upshot of it all is that we went in to mediation with both the Hawkes Bay Regional Council and the Hawkes Bay District Council. A Memorandum Of Understanding was proposed and we agreed and withdrew our opposition to the application. From my point of view there was very little in the MOU for us but we agreed on advice from our own Legal team that further litigation might not end up with a more favourable result and of course it would be expensive. For our capitulation the HBRC agreed to fund a study as to how we might reinstate the original flow and the HDC agreed to provide pipe to facilitate a return of a flow if it ever happened. I am bound to say that I do not believe that either of these parties was serious about returning the flow of the Waingongoro River. In 2010 The Hastings District Council indicated that they would once again be applying to renew their existing permit and would be seeking to increase their water take from the Waingongoro River. At a meeting with the HDC we signalled our intention to oppose not only the existing permit but any increase. In May of this year 2013, after a lot of discussion we withdrew our objection and agreed to lodge a co joined application on behalf of the Waimarama Maori Committee and the Hastings District Council to increase the water take by HDC. The Hastings District Council on their part has agreed to reinstate a flow past the Marae and cemetery. As of today we still have no flow past the Marae. Further to this we firmly believe that the Hawkes Bay Regional Council has been derelict in protecting and maintaining the Waingongoro River, in fact I would go further to say that work done subsequent to that initial work done in 1959 did little to ameliorate the effects of flooding and may have actually increased the risk. Straightening of the river away from its original meandering path increased the flow down from the higher reaches and resulted in • more serious flooding as experienced in 1974 and 2011 • increased the flow rate and caused serious gouging of the river bed , dropping it by several metres this resulted in further degradation of the work done in 1959 • loss of fresh water species unsuited to fast flows. The Hawkes Bay Regional has failed to keep the Waingongoro and other rivers in Waimarama clear of trees and this too has contributed to the flood problems. One of the biggest and ongoing problems still being experienced today is that the Hawkes Bay Regional Council continues to grant permits for water take not only from the Waingongoro but other Waimarama Rivers as well. Consultation with the tangata whenua is not guaranteed. In Summarising our position with regard to the Waingongoro River our committee is adamant that - • In 1959, the Maori Committee or Marae Committee were never consulted or agreed to the remedial work that ultimately altered the flow away from the marae. The Marae was not at risk and suffered no damage, there was no point • Maori landowners, and this was only those who lived above the area of remedial work of 1959 did not agree to have the the Waingongoro River diverted, rather it was permission to cross their lands to undertake ‘necesary remedial flood damage’ • They will continue to seek the full reinstatement of the flow of the Waingongoro to its original path • They will seek compensation for the loss to the Marae and people of those things as already covered and highlighted in Waingongoro Part One Other consequences of the diversion of the Waingongoro River has been – • Other landowners have been similarly affected • Loss of traditional boundaries • Lack of flow meant that the Waingongoro could not maintain its natural pathway to the sea and resulted in pooling on land in the lower reaches. NB . This point has contributed directly to our existing Waitangi Tribunal Claim. The Waingongoro River is an integral part of our Marae and its absence has affected us deeply.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:00:34 +0000
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