Waitara boaties can now use two pontoons reinstalled by NPDC this week after going missing from the Waitara River.

The hard-plastic pontoons are among the five that were damaged and swept away during the August storms after the pile they were connected to broke in a collision with a large floating tree.

The two pontoons were found hundreds of meters away on West Beach and had to be transported back into position by truck.

“These are really popular with boaties, and we’ve had heaps of questions about when they’ll be put back on the river, so it’s great that we can now say they’re ready,” says NPDC Manager Parks and Open Spaces Conrad Pattison.

“We wanted to get these two into the river so that local boaties can get the most out of their summer.”

A new pile needs to be placed in the river before the remaining three remaining pontoons can be installed. This requires a resource consent, which NPDC will work on after the New Year.

Fast facts

• The pontoons are one of nearly 10,000 general structures that NPDC manages in our parks and reserves
• NPDC looks after 1,600 hectares of park and reserve, plus 68 hectares of coastal dunes.

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