Opotiki residents may notice an increase in truck movements in the coming days, as contractors deliver rock material for stopbank repairs.

The rock, from the Rakauroa Quarry in Matawai, will be stockpiled on a prepared site off Union Street.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Flood Restoration Project Engineer Tony Dunlop says the rock delivery will continue until 20 December and then recommence from 7 January.

'We hope to begin placing the rock to strengthen the bank before the end of January and we'll also be doing some willow maintenance.”

The section of stopbank is one of 59 sites in the Waioeka Otara Rivers Scheme that were damaged in 2017.

'Twenty-three of the high priority repairs have been completed so far and this Union Street site is also a priority as it protects the urban area,” Mr Dunlop adds.

The April 2017 rain event brought record high river levels and extensive flooding, resulting in 520 repair sites across the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's river and drainage networks and assets; and a total repair budget of $45m.