JULY
HONGONGOI 2022
School tree split an act of Nature Is Tupua Horo Nuku sustainable? by Louise Parry
With a 16cm sea level rise predicted from 2030-2040 and increasing storms, is Marine Drive sustainable in the future? In a joint report on the shared path project Tupua Horo Nuku, Hutt City Council and Te Ara Tupua Alliance acknowledge that "sea level rise will increase the frequency of inundation and overtopping of the existing structures", and that the current design of the sea wall would compromise Marine Drive. The report also says some areas of Marine Drive are significantly affected during storm events, which are predicted to go from a 1 in 100 year event to once per year between 2030-2040. "Storm events increase tidal height as well as wave height. The combined effects result in significantly greater overtopping, inundation and wave effects.” The report says that without the project, or comparable works, increased storms would mean more temporary closures of the road, resulting in reduced access (including utility connections) to the Eastern Bays and potential severed infrastructure (the most significant being the main sewer pipe). "The loss of these connections would put the health and safety and wellbeing of some 5,000 people at risk as well as creating potentially significant regional adverse effects (for example if treated wastewater were to be discharged directly into Wellington Harbour).” Acknowledging the shared path design will not provide full protection, the report says it will improve resilience and functionality, and allows for future adaptations. While the
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Was it really struck by lightning? The children seemed to think so… Quinn Forde, in blue, explains his theory to his mother Bryony Forde, left, watched by Aleks Churchouse, on the safety cone, and his mother Gemma Churchouse, behind the tree. The damaged portion of the old ngaio tree split by last month’s overnight storm was removed soon after this photo was taken.
curved seawalls are designed to ensure splash reduction/wave redirection is better than those they replace, the project sdoes not include mitigation of run-off from the hills on the landward side of the road. Engineers say the project has included some work to future-proof some of the critical storm water culverts on the landward side that extend to the new seawalls - to enable upgrades in the future - but that the landward side of Marine Drive was not in the scope of the project. They are working
with Wellington Water and HCC to "identify opportunities where some immediate work could be combined with Tupua Horo Nuku. This will be done where it makes sense. "We know that over the coming years more work will be needed on transport and water infrastructure to adapt to the effects of climate change, but not all of this work can be incorporated within Tupua Horo Nuku," Kara Puketapu-Dentice, Director Economy and Development at Hutt City Council says.