Frank Hickmott has lived in Riwaka his whole life. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii
A Riwaka farmer says he's used to flooding, but the last few weeks have been unlike anything he's seen before.
Frank Hickmott has lived in Riwaka, a small settlement in the Tasman District, his whole life, where he farms vegetables and fruit with his brother Stewart. He said their property received another 100 millimetres of rain yesterday, which fell atop a thick layer of silt and sludge that was spread across his land during the last flood.
They had "dodged a bullet' in the 27 June storm, but during the heavy rain two weeks later, a creek at the back of the farm became blocked and later burst, sending debris from down the hilllside and over part of their property. He estimated that they received around 270mm of rain over three days from 11 July.
"It was quite intrusive because it went inside the house, which we've never had before, and it's in our packing shed and our tool gear."
Some of the debris pulled out of the creek on Hickmott's property. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii
He said it was lucky the silt hadn't crossed the road and entered their kiwifruit and pear orchard.
"We're quite fortunate that we don't have to dig out any fruit trees, it's just laying on an open paddock that we grew a crop of beans in last year so we can just avoid using that this summer and it'll give us time to push it out, most of that silt is quite fertile and usable."
Hickmott said the property often flooded when the Riuwaka River levels were high and although that hadn't been the case this time around, many residents felt the stopbanks were inadequate and the river's management could be better.
The damage to their farm was worse than what they experienced in ex-Tropical Cyclone Gita.
Some fences on Frank Hickmott's property were knocked flat and others damaged in the second of two floods to hit Tasman in the last month. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii
"There's certainly more debris, a lot of regenerating native debris that's floated onto the paddocks, the odd pine log with roots on and the odd stump out of pine trees that have been milled where the ground has slumped afterwards."
He said it was difficult to estimate the cost of the damage to the farm. A number of fences had been wiped out with others damaged. His insurance company said it would cover up to $20,000 for fencing, but that wouldn't cover all the work that was needed.
"We've spent a bit on a digger clearing fences and getting the creek back in because it came fully out of its course and was running around our house for three days, so we had to divert that back into where it should be."
Contractors clear debris from drains on Dehra Doon Rd, in Riwaka. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii
River management across Tasman after the floods
The Tasman District Council said as a unitary authority, it looked after the district's river with 285 kilometres of the larger waterways, including the Motueka, Wai-iti, Waimea, Dove, Aorere and Tākaka Rivers, actively managed and maintained.
The majority of smaller rivers and tributaries had no active management or ongoing maintenance, but as the recent weather had affected properties and land next to rivers and waterways of all sizes, it had begun a tree and debris cleanup on some of the smaller catchments, including the Pigeon Valley Stream, Eighty Eight Valley Stream, Pretty Bridge Valley Stream, Stanley Brook and others.
That work would be done alongside major river recovery work in the large waterways, following a similar plan of an initial post-flood cleanup and repair of the most vulnerable areas.
During the recovery phase, the council said long-term commitment to river work and community collaboration would be needed to repair flood damage and make the district's rivers more resilient to future floods.
Thorn Road, alongside the Dove River, remains closed after it was damaged in the recent floods. Photo: RNZ/Mark Papalii
Mayoral relief fund
The government donated $100,000 to the Nelson/Tasman Mayoral Relief Fund after the 27 June flood followed by another $300,000 following the 11 July flood, tagged to the rural sector.
The fund was open to Nelson City and Tasman District residents, ratepayers or not-for-profit organisations who had suffered financial hardship because of the June/July flood events.
The Tasman District Council said the fund was now at $624,000, thanks to the government and community donations.
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said the Mayoral Relief Panel met on Wednesday to consider and approve grants to 24 families impacted by the last two storms.
The Tasman District was hit by two devastating floods, two weeks apart, causing widespread damage to homes and businesses. Photo: Tim Cuff / POOL
He said the fund was not a substitute for insurance, Natural Hazards Commission, ACC or MSD income support but was able to help with incidental costs as people recovered.
It included the cost of flood damaged items like bedding, clothing, toys, fencing, appliances, outbuildings, paddock and crop damage, stock feed, equipment, driveways and motor vehicles.
The minimum grant was $200 and it could cover up to 50 per cent of an insurance excess.
A separate MPI fund of $340,000 was available to help farmers and orchardists recover and people were able to apply to both funds for different losses.
He said the two funds were being coordinated but the MPI fund had a separate panel with agricultural expertise.
Both mayors said anyone affected by the recent storms needing help could apply for support up until 8 August.
