The recent heavy rain is seen some of the worst flooding in the Western Bay of Plenty in years, says the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

While the rain has brought a welcome respite to the prolonged drought, the rain coupled with the dry state with much of the region's soil caused flooding and heightened river and stream levels, says land management manager Robyn Skelton.

An example of an area affected by the wild weather is the Waiau River. Minor flooding occurred at the river and several debris dams were created by woody tree debris, much of which is from upstream forestry operations. Regional Council has been working with the forestry company and they have agreed to undertake the cleanup of the blockages.

'The large amount of rainfall we've seen in the Western Bay over the past few days is causing significant issues for some land owners.

'We certainly needed a good rainfall, but because it has fallen heavily over such a short period of time, it is putting pressure on drainage systems and the rivers are also very full which is causing damage to banks, as well as flooding the river flood zones.”

She says while most of the water is likely to drain in the following days, many land owners will be facing erosion damage and other possible issues like trees falling into waterways.

The Regional Council is available to provide advice, support and in some instances funding for riparian management work.
The Regional Council suggests land owners:
- Inspect waterways to see if there are any issues or blockages

- Check that fences along stream and river banks were still in place and keeping stock out of the water

- Avoid driving over paddocks or harvesting crops under wet conditions

- Keep stock out of ephemeral gully areas during heavy rain.