Cordons around Edgecumbe are expected to be reduced today as some residents are allowed back to their homes.

Residents with properties in the south-eastern section of Edgecumbe – Hydro Road, Nikau Place, Miro Place and Konini Place - will be reoccupying their properties from 8am Monday.

Around 46 properties are involved.

'All have an available water supply, but no wastewater service at this time. This means no water should be going down the drain. This includes not flushing toilets, using showers, or sinks,” says a spokesperson for the Whakatane District Council.

'Washing machine hoses should be discharging outside. Portaloos will be located round the neighbourhood to provide for sanitary needs.”

The cordon on Awakeri Road will be moved to the bridge to allow access to the reoccupied area.

The Whakatane District Council aims to reopen further areas of the town which have not been subject to flooding in the coming days, as soon as water supplies have been restored and the areas have been declared safe by health authorities.

'Residents from more than 300 properties which have not been flooded were able to get assisted access to their properties yesterday to check on the condition of their houses and pick-up essential items.

'This hugely successful process has seen assisted access provided for some 600 people to over 300 properties.”

The assisted access arrangement has been organised for people whose homes were not flooded, with accreditation provided for access to 274 properties at the Project Edgecumbe contact centre in Awakeri alone.

The same activity was also underway at the Kawerau and Whakatane evacuation centres and in all cases there was a strong feeling of relief and positivity that people were being reunited with their homes, even if only briefly.

'Flood affected residents whose homes are damaged who have not yet registered their details with the Whakatane District Council are urged to call its free phone number, 0800 306 0500.

'The ponded water in Edgecumbe is now receding, as the Bay of Plenty Regional Council continues pumping activities.

'Bay of Plenty Regional Council's flood response team are focused on managing the movement of water, pumping out Edgecumbe and checking flood defences to determine what emergency works need to be done, and that can be done quickly, given the possibility of additional weather events.”

This work includes running 17 pumps, 24 hours a day to move flood waters out of Edgecumbe.

The combined pumps are discharging 5000 litres per second which translates to 0.4 million cubic metres water per day.

'We also have controlled cuts discharging floodwater into the canal but it's difficult to calculate volumes. This process could take 7-10 days to complete.

'The pumps are jointly supplied by the Regional Council, Federated Farmers and other councils from across the North Island.”

The Regional Council's engineering manager Mark Townsend says the main breach in Edgecumbe is secure.

'The breach of the Whakatane River stopbank at Rewatu Road was minor in comparison and work to close this is expected to be finished on Monday or Tuesday,” says Mark.

The Edgecumbe township remains cordoned off to ensure public safety while flood waters are still being managed and pumped away and to protect people from sanitation risks associated with sewage system failures and surface water contamination.

The cordon will shrink today, and potentially further in coming days as more areas are opened up for reoccupation.

When can you go back to your home?

Access may not be possible for some people for up to 10 days

People whose homes were in areas that were not severely affected may be able to reoccupy their homes over the coming days

Assisted access will be provided for other residents as soon as it can be safely accomplished. Process (for these people to register for controlled access to their homes)

Go to the Civil Defence Centres at Kawerau, Whakatane or Awakeri School to register

'We will escort people into their homes on a rostered basis for 10-15 minutes.”

Drop-in Sessions

Drop-in sessions were held today and will continue as required to enable displaced residents to speak with someone one-on-one and get information about their specific circumstances.

Schools and early learning centres

Ministry of Education representatives will be at Whakatane and Kawerau today to support parents with school and school holiday arrangements.

They will be located at the Civil Defence centres operating at Whakatane (War Memorial Hall) and Kawerau (Rautahi Marae).

Parents are invited to come down and discuss their needs. The Whakatane Emergency Response team is working closely with the Ministry and can offer support for parents wanting their children to return to school this week. They can also help with alternate arrangements for parents returning to work but keeping their children out of school, and with school holiday arrangements.

Boil water notice

The following areas are advised to boil water rapidly for 1 minute before drinking due to the risk of contamination from flood waters, these areas are: Taneatua, Ruatoki, Rangitaiki Plains (including Te Teko/Mapou, Edgecumbe, Awakeri, Braemar, Onepu, Otakiri and Thornton).


Farmers who are milking and are not using boiled water for plant and silo CIP (cleaning in process) please follow instructions from your dairy company or the procedures for dealing with boil water notices in your risk management programme (if any).

The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) recommends that farmer use products approved for farm dairies, Sodium Hypo Chloride in the final rinse.

Examples of these products are:

XY12 Ecolab

Grade Right FIL.

The mix requirements are 5mls per 100 litres of water. This is the same regime that farmers that are on water exclusion follow.

Animals

Whakatane Emergency Response Team, with support from SPCA, the Ministry for Primary Industries and Massey University experts have been working together to search for animals in Edgecumbe

Residents in need of animal welfare support should call 0800 306 0500 or visit Council's website for information.

Road closures/re-opened

Gow Road near Edgecumbe is now open

Papuera to Ruatahuna Road now open

Waikaremoana Road (Whakatane side) open

Matahi Valley Road open with caution up to Lions Hut and closed beyond Lions Hut.

The road has been opened up between Minginui and Murupara

Please take care if driving along these routes

For Updated road closure information is available on the Whakatane District Council website.

Donations

'We are aware that people want to kindly donate small goods and food, just to reinforce our Welfare and evacuation centres do not require any donated goods.

'We are only able to manage financial assistance at this stage.

'We are aware that there are people in the community who are taking donated small goods and food, this is not being coordinated through the Welfare and evacuation centres.”

An official Mayoral Fund Give a Little page has been set up for the Edgecumbe and Eastern Bay of Plenty (EBOP) Mayoral Flood Appeal. Money raised through the appeal will be used to fund applications made to the Mayoral Relief Fund to assist people affected by this week's flooding events. People can donate at https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/ebopmayoralfund

Kerbside Rubbish/Recycling Collections

Normal scheduled kerbside collections will continue to all areas that can be accessed.

For affected areas only, any properties that have been missed can place extra rubbish out in bags by their bins on their next normal collection days.

Matahī Valley will be serviced on Thursday.