Wairoa River Bar Opening Attempted as Heavy Rain Looms for Hawke's Bay

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council councillor Di Roadley, who represents Wairoa, said an attempt was being made to establish a new opening in the Wairoa River bar. The purpose of the opening attempt is a precaution with heavy rain on the way, and also a good opportunity to re-establish a new opening in a good location of the Wairoa River bar. Roadley said the river was flowing well through its current mouth to the west of Pilot Hill, and a new opening to the east of Pilot Hill would essentially make a more direct route for the water in the river to flow out to sea. Pryde Contracting began preparing for an opening attempt on Tuesday, and had “diggers in the ground” on Wednesday morning. “Down at the river mouth, we have a lowered crest, and part of the thinking of that lowered crest was that we would not need such a long lead-in to have an attempt to open it,” Roadley said. “That is where they are working, in the lowered crest, which is why they are actually only starting this morning.” She said if the opening attempt was successful, it was expected to be done in time for heavy rain later in the afternoon/evening. She said sea swells, sea levels, and the height of the river all had to be right before the cut could be made into the bar, as there had to be enough water to “flush” through and create a new opening. Wairoa suffered a serious flood in June 2024, which drew plenty of criticism about the management of the bar. There are cameras on the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council website where people can watch progress of the opening attempt. MetService’s orange heavy rain warning stated: “streams and rivers may rise rapidly [and] surface flooding, slips, and difficult driving conditions possible”.