YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER |FEBRUARY 2025 | No.267
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Left: the helicopter transported loads of debris from the stream to a site nearer the road where logs were processed. Right: A load lifted from the stream on its way to be processed. Although it seems from the photo that the helicopter carried loads over the power lines, it did not. It worked on the far side of the power lines at all times.
Chopper Cleans Up 2 yrs After Rain Event
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helicopter was used on Wednesday this week to remove around 80 loads of log debris weighing up to 900 kg each from the Rangitopuni Stream. The debris had washed downstream during Cyclone Gabrielle in January 2023 and had remained in the stream for two years. The work was carried out by Auckland Council Healthy Waters under the Making Space for Water programme which aims to improve overland flow paths to prevent flooding. According to Pradip Baisyet project manager at Healthy Waters, the inaccessibility of the logs along 2 km of the Rangitopuni Stream meant retrieval by air was the best solution. "Our contractor HEB who's responsible for removing the debris, couldn't get
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heavy machinery into the area close enough to that part of the stream along Sunnyside Road, so they had to find an alternative method," he says. The logs had to be removed because of the threat they posed to the environment and property owners. Pradip says they caused the stream to dam and if there was another weather event, as well as the risk of flooding, the waterlogged stream banks were also likely to suffer erosion and possible collapse. Healthy Waters' process of assessment involved drone surveys, walkovers as well as health and safety for contractors, risks if work was not done, plant/materials needed, and cost to clear the blockages. On this occasion, the helicopter ticked all the boxes.
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