Ashburton Courier: June 17, 2021

NEWS
8 Ashburton Courier, June 17, 2021
Flood clean up
help available
Mid Canterbury farmers and landowners
affectedbythe recent flooding can now
register for help with cleaning up their
propertiesthrough Enhanced Taskforce
Green (ETFG)scheme.
Job seekers interested in helping the
Canterbury­wide flood recovery can register
their interest by phoning 0800 559 009.
Farmersand growers canself­register for
clean­up help by fillinginan online form.
CanterburyCivil Defence Emergency
Management is co­ordinating assistance to
communities affectedbyflooding. The typeof
help available is listed on the Canterbury
Civil Defence Emergency Management
website andincludes information about
returningtoflooded homes, rural
communities andanimalwelfare, and
financialsupport and insurance.
The Ministry of Social Development’s
helpline for people needing assistance after
the floods is 0800752102, or visit Work and
Income.
NewGrant Rounds
2021/2022
Closing Dates
Operational (programme or event) costs
Up to $15,000 –16th April &
3rdSeptember 2021
Capital projects
Up to $20,000 –16th July 2021 &
4th February2022
Major Grants Round
Over $20,000 –21st May&
8th October 2021
(Phone to discuss prior to applying)
www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz
Riverbed berm vegetation
will need to be replanted
Environment Canterbury expects all
water flowingout of Ashburton
riverbed in the upper reaches of the
catchmentwill be diverted off private
land by the end of the week.
Althoughmuchofthe diverted
water wasjust atemporarymeasure
with fullrepairs to someof the
breakouts expectedtotake months.
ECan riversmanagerLeigh
Griffiths said water was still flowing
out of the riverbed in acoupleof
places in the upper reaches of the
Ashburton catchmentearlier this
week.
‘‘Weexpectthat by the end of this
week all overflows will be diverted off
private land.
‘‘Manyof these diversionsshouldbe
considered temporary and vulnerable
in nature.’’
She said for full repairstobedone
river engineers were working on
understanding the changes thathad
occurred within the riverbed andits
surrounding land.
‘‘In somecases, we will need to
discuss new stopbank alignments
with adjacent landowners,’’ she said.
‘‘Thereare significantareas of
riverbed berm vegetation to be
replanted. Theseserveasabufferto
slow floodwateragainststopbanks
and terraces.
‘‘Rebuilding stopbanks andother
earth structures will require heavy
machinery.
‘‘In many places water levels
needed to drop and ground
conditions todry outbefore afull
rebuild can be undertaken,’’ she said.
The work would include many
partieswith an interest, such as
ECan,adjacentlandowners, mana
whenua partners, districtcouncils,
roading and other infrastructure
Significant areas of riverbed berm vegetation washed downstream ­and is
visible at the Ashburton River bridge at State Highway 1.
providers, Fishand Game, and
Department of Conservation.
The rainfall which hit the district
saw adeluge of water on the foothills;
from May 28 to May 31 amassive
545mm of rain was recorded at Mt
Somers, the MetService reported.
The main centres ­Christchurch
(110mm), Ashburton (155mm), and
Timaru (105mm) ­wereinundated
over the same period.
ECan groundwater science
manager Carl Hansonsaid following
months of dry conditions the water
table across Canterbury had already
responded to the rainfall. In late May,
many wells were wellbelow average
levels forthistimeofthe year, and in
areas like West Melton, some were at
record lows.
‘‘In some placesthe water table has
risen by less than ametre, and in
others, more than two metres,| he
said.
While much of therainfall rushed
through the river systems out to sea,
Mr Hanson expected most of the rain
that fell on the plains soaked into the
dry ground.
“Outinthe middle of the
Canterbury Plains,far fromany
watercourses, there’s really
nowhere else for the raintogo,”he
said.
However, onelarge rainfall event
does notmakeupfor months of very
dry conditions that much of
Canterbury has experienced.
Council sets up Givealittle page
Seeour websitefor further information
and to makeanonline application …
www.comtrust.org.nz
To discuss anyapplications
Phone:
03 687 7360 or 0800 672 287
Email:
crm@comtrust.org.nz
2359983
AshburtonDistrict Councilhas setup
aGivealittle page andbank account
to support people affectedbyrecent
floodinginthe district.
Thetwo donation channels were
created after the council received an
outpour of support from communities
andindividuals nationwide who
wanted to help.
AshburtonMayorNeilBrown said
the impact of the floodingonthe
district is stillemergingand farmers
in the mostaffectedareashave been
working around the clocktorestore
theiroperations.
‘‘They haveabig job on their hands
in the weeksand months ahead, and
theyneed allthe help they canget.
‘‘I’ve beenhearing from mayors all
overthe country offeringsupport and
thereare people too,who wantto
helpthose that havebeen affected in
our district, by wayofdonation,’’ he
said.
People interested in makinga
financial donation can through an
official flood relief Westpacbank
account (03­1592­0521970­04) or
through the Givealittle page.
Ashburton district people affected
by the flooding and needing
assistance were encouraged to apply
for Emergency ReliefFundingonthe
council's website(ashburtondc.govt.
nz).
Awide range of agencies are also
offeringsupport and being
facilitated, in part,through council's
recovery efforts.
Heritage award winners
2385429
There were nine winners across
six categories at theCanterbury
HeritageAwards, butnoneof
them came fromMid or South
Canterbury.
Two Ashburtonentries were
among the finalists, the Ng King
Chinese market garden
settlement in the outstanding
contribution to heritage
category, and the quake
strengthened No1 Rakaia Gorge
Bridge in the seismiccategory.
The restoredformer twostorey
vicarageofStMary’s in
Geraldine was afinalist in the
domestic saved and restored
category.
The supreme award and a
Blue Plaque went to the Kate
Sheppard House in
Christchurch.
The house has been adapted to
avisitor destination to celebrate
Kate Sheppard’s life and
achievements, the suffrage
movementand itslegacy of
social change.
The heritage tourism award
went to the Godley Head Coastal
Defence Site and the public
realm saved and restored award
was jointly won by The Arts
Centre Te Matatiki Toi Oraand
BalmoralFire Lookout.
There were also joint winners
of the domestic saved and
restored award with Montrose
Station Homesteadand The
Britten Stables taking the
honours.
Theseismic award went to the
Sacred Heart Basilica and
future heritage award to
Turanga Christchurch Central
Library.
The winnerswere announced
at afunctionatChrist’s College
to recognise heritage in all its
forms.