Greymouth floodwall repairs to avoid whitebaiting season
By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Repairs will soon begin on a slumping section of the Greymouth Floodwall at Blaketown, ahead of a wider upgrade to raise and widen the wall.
West Coast Regional Council area engineer Paulette Birchfield said a slumped section of the wall needed to be fixed on the Blaketown Tiphead, just east of the Blaketown Rugby Club.
It was being timed to follow the end of the whitebaiting season.
Birchfield said the work, costing $60,000, would require a road closure on the Tiphead, anticipated for two days in early November. Henry Adams has been contracted to carry out the work.
The work was routine, although the narrowness of the Grey River at the repair point had a bearing.
"Any rock work does need maintenance over time … generally it's fairly stable."
The river channel generally moved within the bed over time and the main flow was currently hard up against the true left bank by Blaketown.
The resulting scouring effect impacted on the rock facing of the wall, with stone slumping down the wall face into the channel.
The solution was to top the rock up, from above.
Birchfield said the wall was constructed knowing regular maintenance would be needed, as for any river protection wall in the region.
About 400 tonne of rock would be transported from one of council's quarries, with each piece placed from the top using a claw on a digger.
A similar fix costing $75,000 to repair rock rip rap on the Punakaiki seawall was completed last month.
Meanwhile, the bigger project to widen and raise the Greymouth Floodwall across its entire footprint is moving towards the tender stage.
A report to council's Infrastructure Governance Committee on October 10 noted tender documentation had been issued to a pre-approved group of contractors at the end of September.
The existing resource consent for the floodwall was also undergoing a legal review.
Time to Tickle Your Thinker 🧠
If a zookeeper had 100 pairs of animals in her zoo, and two pairs of babies are born for each one of the original animals, then (sadly) 23 animals don’t survive, how many animals do you have left in total?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm on the day!
Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed? No worries! Simply head here and click once on the Following button.
Poll: As a customer, what do you think about automation?
The Press investigates the growing reliance on your unpaid labour.
Automation (or the “unpaid shift”) is often described as efficient ... but it tends to benefit employers more than consumers.
We want to know: What do you think about automation?
Are you for, or against?
-
9.5% For. Self-service is less frustrating and convenient.
-
43.2% I want to be able to choose.
-
47.2% Against. I want to deal with people.
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
Loading…
