Storm damage to Jacketts Island raises long-term issues

June 8th, 2012
[by David Armstrong]

The work to remediate erosion problems to landowners on Jacketts Island and open the Port Motueka channel were set back by damage caused by Wednesday's huge storm and high tides.

But while the project is brought back on track, one district councillor has sounded a warning that this particular problem highlights one of the biggest concerns facing Tasman District Council in the future - the ongoing cost of relying on coastal and river infrastructure to protect property from erosion, slips and flooding.

The major 24-hour storm this week saw a combination of large waves from the east or south-east, king tides and a low-pressure surge that lifted the sea level.

At Port Motueka the result was the overtopping of the wall built to protect the eroded beach areas while work was being prepared to remove the offending artificial geotextile groyne from the sand spit.

This overtopping caused damage to the protective wall and further beach erosion, which will add a significant sum to the $800,000-plus cost of the remediation work, ordered last year by the Environment Court.

Resource consent for the full removal of the groyne was granted on March 12th, with a condition being that it had to be removed in full between May and August, and some work has already begun.

The TDC Engineering Committee meeting held in Motueka yesterday heard the frustrating news of the setback. This prompted Councillor Glenys Glover to urge that council consider the long-term issues of which Jacketts Island is just one example - the large and growing costs of climate change and sea level rises.

"In my opinion this issue requires a collective senior management think-tank to address the regional policy concerns that have been raised," she told Motueka Online after the meeting, at which her concerns were not discussed further.

She said matters to be considered would be climate change and the associated issues with sealevel rise, building heights above sealevel, rezoning of low-lying hazard areas deemed unsuitable for building on, retreating and not replacing current infrastructure when it is damaged, and building further away from the coastline and allowing the natural processes of the coast to take place.

"Society is becoming more litigious and turning to council for solutions that council is unable to sustain in terms of the building costs of rock walls and their future renewal and maintenance," she said.

"The interim decision of the Environment Court in the Jacket Island case has cost council to date $860,000 and this is before a solution has yet to be agreed upon or court costs of $252,200 awarded.

"In March, as outlined on the TDC website, two of the options presented had initial capital costs of between $4 million and $5 million, and both would require on-going annual maintenance costs relating to beach replenishment of between $200 and $330 thousand.

"There are further examples of these types of issues around the region and these future costs are, in my opinion, simply not sustainable nor affordable."

Sandbags stored at Port Motueka until this week have now gone
- used in repairs? (Photo by Shirley Frater)

Comment by Ben Van Dyke:
[Posted 9 June 2012]

To keep things in balance regarding the coastal erosion at Jackett Island: The damage and erosion was caused by the Tasman District Council, not sea level rise or climate change. This was proven in court and nobody is disputing it.

One of the reasons for the blow out of costings is failure of the TDC to do the job properly in the first place. A well respected councillor such as Glenys Glover should understand this, and create an atmosphere of change within the council, so that these things do not happen again, rather than blame external forces. Thank you.

Editor's Comment:
Thanks Ben. It should be added that at the meeting Cr Glover did not imply that external forces caused the damage at Jacketts Island or that council is not now addressing the problems there. As far as this reporter understood, she was just highlighting a longer-term, general problem for all local governments which have low coastal land to manage. For further information on this issue as discussed at the meeting, read this Nelson Mail report.

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