Hatea River Dredging Scheme About to Begin

Looping the Hatea Loop is set to become an even better experience with sections of the Hatea River about to get a makeover, according to the Whangarei District Council.

Two sections of the river closest to the Town Basin will be dredged in the coming months as part of a three-year program to improve the links between the water and the land along the loop.

The move follows supportive comment from the community when the initial tree removal took place, and will bring the water closer to the shore at low tide.

The work is being carried out by Opua-based Total Dredging Ltd, part of the Total Marine Group, which is currently dredging channels in the Whangarei Harbor for the Marina Trust.

When that work finishes around the end of September or the start of October, Council will begin its dredging program along the Hatea River between the Town Basin and Te Matau a Pohe bridge.

“Over the next three years Loop users will get an increasingly more pleasant water or rock view rather than the mud they see now,” said Whangarei District Council Infrastructure and Services Project Engineer, Rachael Mannion.

“This year we will be starting dredging near the Town Basin, with the budget allowing us to progress about as far as the Art Park.

“We expect it to take around eight weeks provided we don’t get too many days of strong winds which make using the digger dangerous.”

This year’s operation will cost $250,000 which includes work at Bell Block on Riverside Drive opposite Kissing Point to make room for disposal of the dredged material.

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