Reef to Tackle Taupo Erosion

By WATSON, Mike

POWER generator Mighty River Power will start building an artificial reef to halt shoreline erosion at Lake Taupo.

The 30-metre reef will be offshore from the Waitahanui River mouth, 12 kilometres south of Taupo.

Mighty River Power was granted resource consent this year. Local iwi also support the project.

The Waitahanui foreshore was badly eroded during severe storms in February 2004.

Beachfront properties were damaged, forcing residents to place large boulders as retaining walls along the frontages.

Residents earlier claimed the erosion was caused by fluctuating lake levels.

Waitahanui holiday house owner Hamish Brooky, of Wellington, said residents supported the scheme. “We are enormously pleased the project is going ahead. It will help halt erosion and maintain public access along the beachfront.”

Mighty River Power has resource consent to manage the natural lake level within a 1.4-metre range for power generation.

Contractors will use a barge to place large boulders 30 metres offshore for the reef. The structure will help sand and sediment build up, to create a large beach area south of the river mouth.

Up to 5000 cubic metres of sand — 100 truckloads — will also be shifted from Three Mile Bay to help build the beachfront. Construction should finish in mid- November.

Navigational lights will warn boaties of the reef, which will be a metre above the waterline.

Mighty River Power hydro generation manager Gavin Williamson said the manmade reef would help build up the beach south of the river mouth and protect properties in future.

“The reef has been designed to take the energy out of the incoming waves and slow the drift of sand northwards along the beach,” he said.

While artificial offshore reefs had been built elsewhere in New Zealand to control erosion, it would be the first time the practice had been used on Lake Taupo. “It’s a pretty innovative design and we are keen to see it used at Taupo.”

The company had no plans to build other reefs where erosion was occurring around the lake, he said.

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