Work to remove the Mount surf reef is complete, despite high seas hampering some of the work.

Removal started in late September and contractors have now finished the job, cutting open the large bags on the seabed and releasing the sand inside.

The Mount surf reef is almost gone.

All of the large bags, weighing several tonnes, have now been removed by barge, even though work had to be suspended several times due to the difficult conditions.

The site will be left for several weeks while the sand is washed out by tides and a video survey will be done in around a month to see if partial removal of the sand bags has made the area safer for swimmers and other water users.

Regional Council Deputy Chief Executive Eddie Grogan says the Council had decided to partially remove the reef near Tay Street beach earlier this year once its resource consent expired.

The reef had attracted public criticism, with surfers saying it did not provide the intended breaks and surf lifesaving organisations concerned it was creating dangerous rips for swimmers.

The $1.5 million reef, built between 2005 and 2008 with donations from the public and community funding groups, had never functioned as intended, adds Eddie.

He says: 'The reef created a large scour hole affecting waves and currents and increasing the frequency and intensity of rips, which posed a serious risk to swimmers in the popular Tay Street beach area.”

The site will be surveyed annually to ensure that natural processes have resumed.