Repeat vandalism and theft from weather and flood monitoring stations could be putting the public’s lives at risk, Taranaki Regional Council has warned.

The warning has been made after the monitoring site on the Waiwhakaiho River near Mitre 10 Mega at The Valley in New Plymouth was vandalised, the second time the site has been hit over the last three months and the third time since its installation in 2020.

The lower Waiwhakaiho River gauge has now been repaired and police are investigating the incident which occurred on 11 January at 1.20am.

Craig Pickford, the Council’s Environmental Data Team Leader, says the theft and destruction of monitoring equipment could seriously impact the timeliness of alerts to the public about rising river levels when the region experiences significant weather events.

“The Waiwhakaiho River is a particularly dynamic waterway and can change very quickly after heavy rainfall so we need to be able to rely on real-time data if the river is rising and could pose a threat to those living and working nearby,” says Mr Pickford.

“We saw last July just how fast it can change. We had to undertake repairs after a berm near Mitre 10 was washed away as the nearby gauge recorded 535m³/sec river flow.

“That monitoring station is now being repeatedly targeted by thieves, with the most recent incident involving the door being ripped off and loss of equipment.

“Our message to those committing these senseless acts is to stop and think about their actions, as these stations provide the crucial information we need to keep the public informed about when to get to safety in the event of a flood.”

TRC works with Civil Defence Emergency Management Taranaki to alert the public about potential flooding when the region experiences heavy rainfall which our rivers to rapidly rise.

While these events are rare, TRC maintains a number of flood defence schemes and critical monitoring stations – including on the Waiwhakaiho and Waitara rivers – to protect homes and businesses in at-risk locations which have historically been prone to flooding.

“While we accept some monitoring stations are damaged by severe weather events, it’s hard to understand why anyone would intentionally put people’s lives at risk,” Mr Pickford added.

Other monitoring stations have also been the target for vandalism and theft including the Waiwhakaiho at Rimu Street and the Mangati at SH3 stations.

These sites are part of a region-wide monitoring network managed by the TRC which provides real-time environmental data including rainfall, river levels, wind speed, air temperature, water quality and river flow. For more information, see here - https://www.trc.govt.nz/environment/maps-and-data/regional-overview

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