Government thanked for flood damage funding

Greater Wellington Regional Council Chairman, Ian Buchanan, has publicly thanked the government for its recent allocation of funding assistance for the repair of damage to the Council’s assets caused by last February's floods.

The Government announced in October that financial help of $669,000 would be paid to Greater Wellington to cover costs relating to damage to Wairarapa river systems, and on the Hutt, Wainuiomata, Otaki and Waikanae rivers, plus damage to water supply assets at Kaitoke and Wainuiomata.

“The February floods caused substantial damage to river systems in the Wellington region and Greater Wellington river engineers have had an extremely busy year repairing this damage,” said Cr Buchanan. “This repair work has not been made any easier with subsequent flooding, most notably in August and again in October.”

According to Cr Buchanan, the costs of repair work have been substantial, reaching nearly three million dollars, and this additional government funding has greatly assisted the Council’s own financial commitment.

“The region, and in particular the Wairarapa, has not had an easy year due to the extreme weather,” said Cr Buchanan. “And we deeply appreciate the Government’s recognition of this.”

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