Maintenance work planned for Manu Bay sea wall in January

Maintenance work will begin at the end of January on the Manu Bay sea wall in Raglan to avoid any further erosion occurring.

Waikato District Council Service Delivery Manager, Tim Harty said the sea wall had been constructed in the 1960s and routine maintenance was necessary to make sure the impact from sea swells did not cause the land to further erode, undermining the structure.

“One of the key functions of the retaining wall is to protect boats launching in to the sea from the nearby Manu Bay boat-ramp. It also protects land and reserve from the huge surf the bay is renowned for. Since it was constructed the sea wall has been subjected to the full force of nature and has held up extremely well. The work we are doing will ensure that the reserve is protected from erosion and that visitors using the area are kept safe,” he said.

Work will involve rocks and boulders being used to provide additional support to the existing sea wall structure. These will be stockpiled on the grass area near the boat ramp before and during the maintenance works.

Council’s project engineers have talked about the project with community members, including those  representing the Raglan boating club, surf club, local iwi, and Whaingaroa Harbour Care to discuss how the work may affect them.

The Manu Bay boat ramp will continue to be available to the public during the maintenance work which is expected to cause minimum disruption to those using Manu Bay for recreation.

Signage will be installed at the site to show what is expected and Schick’s Construction and Cartage have been contracted by Council to complete the work.

The sea wall maintenance project is expected to take place from late January to the end of March 2016. Whilst the timing coincides with the busy summer period, it is based on historic data showing sea and swell conditions being most settled during summer months for the work to be done.

For more information contact

Ginny Semmens
Communications Advisor
Waikato District Council
07 824 8633 Extn: 5778
ginny.semmens@waidc.govt.nz