FLOX, ART ESCAPE
20 February, 2024 | Proudly locally owned and operated Issue 1093 Circulation 9000
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CONNECTING COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COROMANDEL PENINSULA
SEE PAGE 6 (07) 866 2090 info@theinformer.co.nz
EROSION AND FLOODING THREATEN BUT LITTLE ACTION BY PAULINE STEWART
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his is an aerial view of Buffalo Beach and clearly seen is Mother Brown’s Creek or Taputapuatea Stream flowing down to the ocean. In this photo it was a tidal small river. There are storm water drains positioned to assist the overflow of water to and from the ocean and river in times of deluge. You can see circled the mouth of the stream and Taputapuatea Bridge, also circled is the Boating Club where it used to be, and the home of Warren Harris and Suzie Fletcher’s home. Now there is no tidal action at the mouth of the stream; the flow has stopped and no flow under the bridge. A large sand bank gave way during Hale and Gabriel and it has filled the mouth and added to it are a series of dumpings of debris from throughout the past winter rains. What was clear ground is now overgrown and the wetlands around the stream are clogged with undergrowth and the smell is foul. The flow has stopped, not because of the volume of water or that the direction of flow has structurally changed; there has been little done by any
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authority to make a difference to this situation. Warren Harris and Suzie Fletcher live on opposite sides of Buffalo Beach Road. Warren’s home is facing severe erosion if something is not done to protect the homes between the road and the Bay. He represents a number of home owners. The edict for many years now has been, ‘No hard fill or no hard structures.’
He is also just metres from Buffalo Beach Road which is also State Highway 25. The road is as vulnerable as the homes. Concrete blocks, a line of large stones and the Boating Clubhouse on stilts between Warren’s home and the ocean are a crude reminder of how past proposals, plans and actions have not worked. Suzie Fletcher approached The Informer out of frustration and great concern at the knowledge that she is surrounded by wetlands that can only flood her entire property if there is another decent storm and deluge because there is nowhere for the water to flow. Continued on page 3
The Coromandel Informer – 20 February 2024 | 1