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This page provides information about silt and waste disposal in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.
Silt
The Silt Recovery Taskforce, set up jointly between Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and Hastings District Council, has set up a six zone system to collect the unprecedented silt dumped on orchards, farms, roads, and residential properties. There are dedicated contractors in each zone working to collect the silt.
If you need silt collected fill in the form at the bottom of this page or call 0800 108 838 and press '2'to request cyclone-related silt collection.
Once you’ve got in touch, we are aiming for an assessor will visit your property within seven working days and then your job will be scheduled into our collection programme.
The free collection only applies to silt that has been gathered and put into piles on your property ready for disposal.
Please place your silt in a pile as close to the front of your property as possible, accessible by truck, or let us know if this isn’t possible when you make a silt collection request.
The Sediment and Silt Recovery Fund is for commercial entities to help clean up their properties and return their businesses to profit. Applications are open 6 - 30 June 2023.
The NZ Government has provided funding to support recovery activities following Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023. The Sediment and Silt Recovery Fund is for Commercial Entities to help clean up their properties and return their businesses to profit. Sediment and debris clean-up activities must have been or will be undertaken between 12 February 2023 and 30 June 2024.
The fund is to support the processing, disposal and management of sediment and debris from commercial properties and premisesThis fund is to pay for services for cleaning up and managing silt and debris. It is not to pay for materials, e.g. a digger.
Available funding includes:
- Grants of up to $40,000
- Further funding of up to $210,000 on a 50:50 cost-share basis
Applications will be prioritised based on those commercial entities that have been impacted the most, and which will find it most difficult to recover without assistance.
To find out about eligibility criteria, what you’ll need to apply, and how we will be assessing applications please check out the below video, and read the FAQs and info sheet.
Sediment and Silt Recovery Funding for Commercial Entities FAQs
Sediment and Silt Recovery Funding for Commercial Entities
If you need support with your application please contact 0800 108 838 or info@hbrc.govt.nz. Applications close on Friday 30 June.
When you call to arrange silt pick up, you will be asked to describe your silt in general, to enable the right disposal site to be selected. There are four types of silt:
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council initially took random samples across the region to test the silt and understand the make-up of the silt. We found that outside of Awatoto, there no significantly contaminated silt. People should continue to take precaution and wear suitable PPE, but silt can safely be taken from around the region.
Silt samples from silt deposit sites are being taken several times a week. To date the results are showing very little in the way of chemical contamination, with heavy metals generally present at the natural ‘background’ concentrations for our region, and other contaminants such as pesticides, herbicides and hydrocarbons typically not being detected. Our site contamination specialists are continually reviewing the sampling and analysis regime and adapting it as necessary, based on the results coming in, observations on site, and the origin of the material being deposited.
Analysis for pathogens common in flood situations have been incorporated into the regime, with the first set of results expected in the coming days.
A number of silt collection sites have been established and are storing silt around Hawke’s Bay.
HDC and HBRC have been working under the emergency works provisions of the Resource Management Act 1991 to enable works to commence as soon as possible to allow for roading connections to be re-established and drainage areas maintained.
Before any new site is opened it is assessed looking at whether there any special features or characteristics such as: archaeological sites, wahi tapu areas, significant flora and fauna, waterbodies and wetlands, alongside proximity to neighbouring sites and community uses. Given the urgency of clearing silt and other debris from roading corridors, the six established sites are currently being consented retrospectively.
A further eight sites are being investigated to determine whether they are feasible for use.
We’re working through our jobs list from the community, and are prioritising areas where silt is blocking property or drains. The jobs list we have at the moment in April 2023 is for around 700,000m3 of silt, which will take around six months to complete.
We estimate that this is 25% of the total amount of silt to be cleaned up. With the sheer volume of silt over a large area we expect the complete clean-up of all of the silt to take many months.
The taskforce is looking at a range of options for storing and using silt in the future, and working closely with other councils, industry, and landowners to develop solutions for the region.
We know lots of people in the community are interested and also concerned about what happens with this large volume of silt and how long it will take. Our team is committed to finding the best solutions we can for our rohe and will keep the community updated.
We are working hard to reduce double handling as we clear silt around Hawke’s Bay.
If you or contractors working for you have a large amount of silt and are able to move it directly to one of our disposal sites using dump trucks, please get in touch with us on 0800 108 838 and we will work with you.
You need to contact your insurance company regarding this work who can assess the need for silt removal and the best way to do this.
Disposal of flood damaged household goods is through local Councils – people can check their local
council website or phone them for latest advice. Here are links to their websites:
Cleaning or draining of your swimming pool has to be carried out by a suitably qualified or experienced pool company due to the risk of further damage being caused.
If you’re dealing with silt, it’s important to work safely due to the risk of pathogens, such as bacteria or viruses, which are typical following a flood and will decrease over time as they are exposed to air and sunshine. Ensure you’re limiting the risk of infection by:
Out of precaution we wouldn’t recommend adding fresh silt into vegetable gardens until spring to allow pathogen levels to decrease.
Lightly silted tanks can be extracted and disposed of at East Clive using a council approved contractor listed on this page.
If you have a larger accumulations of silt, it will require extraction using jetting or another method. Laterals and drainage pipes need to be checked and cleaned if they are blocked. Hastings District Council is currently working through disposal options for larger amounts of septic waste contaminated silt. Contact hdcsilt@hdc.govt.nz to organise a visit from HDC.
The Silt Recovery Taskforce has been working with Insurance Council NZ (ICNZ) and EQC to release an ‘authorised contractor listing’ for landowners to use when removing silt from their properties.
These contractors are authorised by the Taskforce to directly access deposit sites once silt is collected. They understand the delivery model the Taskforce has setup with ICNZ and EQC where the cost for collection and transport to the deposit site is undertaken by the Taskforce, but the work on property and underneath the property to clear and remove silt is at the cost of the landowner – with possible funding for some or all of this work through Insurance and/or EQC payouts.
The contractor listing will regularly reviewed, and added to – if you are a contractor wanting to be added to the list below, please email: waste@hbrc.govt.nz
Further information on the ‘authorised contractor’ process can be found here.
Contractor |
Key Contact |
Contact Details - Email |
Contact Details |
Berketts |
Sam Staples |
027 705 9593 |
|
HB Civils |
Eon de Klerk David Keracher |
027 314 3641 027 229 4504 |
|
Composting NZ |
Andrew Reid |
027 252 1538 |
|
Topline |
Carl Webber |
027 206 2082 |
|
Phoenix |
Mike Walmsley |
021 242 6617 |
|
Gairs/ Goodman |
Ed Goody |
027 406 7089 |
|
Drainways |
Matthew Donk |
027 445 1740 |
|
RBS Group |
James Simpson |
022 685 6295 |
|
Agnew Transport |
Willie Agnew |
027 442 9332 |
|
Everfresh |
Nick Agnew |
027 583 7373 |
|
Man Up/ 2020 Construction |
Michael Ngahuka |
021 216 5682 |
|
Build Flex Solutions |
Cheyne Hakaraia |
027 542 6966 |
|
MPT Concrete |
Mike Teddy |
027 547 8105 |
Wood waste has washed up on beaches, river sides, roadsides, public areas and private properties after the cyclone. We will remove debris from public places to chip it, starting with the immediate area around the Heretaunga Plains and then progressing further afield. We strongly recommend against burning this waste as it will be contaminated and burning the waste risks spreading any contamination.
If you have wood waste on a lifestyle block, farm or orchard, the Regional Council will be able to help remove larger volumes. Landowners are asked to move the wood waste to a location on their property with suitable access for trucks. The landowners can then contact us on 0800 108 838 or 06 835 9200 as we will coordinate with a contractor for its removal.
Post Cyclone Gabrielle 2023 large woody debris assessment
The cyclone has caused many vineyard, and orchard posts and wire to be ripped out of the ground, and these are now scattered across properties, neighbouring land and roadsides.
IMPORTANT! Tanilised posts and wire that make up this waste cannot be disposed of through burning; burning of this waste will release toxic chemicals into the wider environment.
Where landowners have large quantities of posts and wires from fences, viticulture and horticulture operations, these can be collected by HBRC and held in a secure site for further work. HBRC will arrange collection and suitable remedial work to separate wire, for wire recycling and return of usable posts to farmers. Landowners can contact the regional council on 06 835 9200 or 0800 108 838 to coordinate the removal of posts & wire fences.
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