A stopbank realignment project won’t be finished as planned this year but Environment Canterbury is busy extracting gravel from the Ashburton/Hakatere River.

River engineering regional lead Shaun McCracken said over the last three years ECan have been working to restore or replace flood protection assets that were damaged or lost in the Ashburton/Hakatere catchment in the May 2021 flood.

“We acknowledge further improvements are required to increase the scheme’s resilience in the face of more extreme weather events as a result of climate change, in order to provide a higher level of protection for the community and critical infrastructure.”

In ECan’s long-term plan, $1.5 million will be spent between 2025 and 2030 on investigating, designing, and implementing stopbank changes and gravel removal in the Blands Reach section of the North Branch.

There is also $1.2 million for a stopbank relocation project on the North Branch near Walkhams Road that was rated for this year.

ECan already purchased the required land in anticipation of this work but it will not be completed in the 2024/25 financial year as planned.

“We are currently designing options based on previous feedback from landowners, and intend to consult with the community on these draft designs.”

Regional operations engineer Cliff Thomas said ECan is investigating design options for the proposed stopbank realignment using feedback provided by landowners.

“Once we have proposals drafted, we’ll consult on these with the local community.

“This will take time, so we are unlikely to deliver by the end of June 2025.

“We now anticipate commencing this work in year two of the long-term plan (2025/26).”

There have been no delays in the gravel extraction, with ECan councillor Ian Mackenzie declaring they are removing ore shingle than ever before.

“It’s good progress.”

Thomas said between January and June this year there has been 123,517m3 of gravel extracted from the North Branch of the Hakatere / Ashburton River - the Blands Reach area.

Consents authorise extraction of up to 227,500m3 gravel in this area over a 12-month period and the amount taken is subject to contractors’ requirements and the limits set in their consents Thomas said.

“We’ve been working with contractors to prioritise extraction through this reach.

“We’re also engaging residents to facilitate access for gravel extraction.”

By Jonathan Leask