Health warning – Kaiwaka and Otamatea rivers, Kaipara Harbour

Progress update 13 May

Commemorative ceremonies took place around Kaipara District on Friday in observance of ANZAC day.

Replacement corridor for the Brynderwyn Hills section of State Highway 1, announced. 

Update Friday 18 April, 8:57am

Northland experienced an exceptionally dry March, which brought grading work across the district to a halt. 

The community of Kaipara will soon be asked for feedback on a way forward for the district’s water services.

A dry February has put the brakes on unsealed road maintenance, shifting our focus to wet roll grades.

Kaipara District Council has agreed to consult with the community on a targeted rate for the district’s museums.

Work across the 1126km unsealed network will pick back up in late March, having slowed down during the dry season. 

Pre-seal repairs progressed well in November, with 71% of sites finished.

Hubert Linnell Reserve is now ready to welcome visitors for the summer season.

In October, Kaipara's roading team powered through 55% of necessary pre-seal works, in preparation for re-seals next year.

A joint paper on the suite of upgrades for the Mangawhai wastewater treatment plant has won the prestigious Paper of the Year award at the Water NZ conference.

The first stage of the Rangiora Road park upgrade will include car and boat trailer parking, lighting and a public toilet.

We made the most of June’s relatively dry weather, carrying out culvert placements and water tabling across the district.

Teams are in full swing across both unsealed and sealed networks, preparing for the upcoming winter season.

Stage one of a plan to expand Mangawhai’s wastewater capacity is complete, and stage two is well underway, catering for projected community growth to at least 2030. 

More than $3.2million of external funding will be redirected into Kaipara District’s waters infrastructure budget after Council deciding to redirect existing uncommitted Better Off and Transition Support funding.

New toilets are on the way for Baylys Beach, to provide safe and accessible facilities for the community and visitors. 

We are making changes to the system that Kaipara District Libraries uses for our library catalogue, customer records and other library services.

Roading teams made the most of April’s dry weather, resurfacing 129,042m2 across the network and carrying out culvert replacements and water tabling.

Commemorative ceremonies took place across Kaipara District on Wednesday in observance of ANZAC day.

Relatively dry weather in March enabled our roading team to push through our drainage maintenance and renewals.

A new online mapping tool developed by Northland’s three district councils shows the latest repair plans for the remaining slips still affecting district roads following severe weather events that hit the region during 2022-23.

Our team made the most of February’s mixed bag of weather.

January saw our teams commence routine spraying rounds, pavement repairs are full steam ahead and preseals and reseals are underway across the district.

State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyn Hills is now closed for crucial recovery works. Detour routes through the Kaipara district are open and operating.

A nationwide campaign to promote Northland during the Brynderwyn Hills closure is just kicking off and will run throughout the period of the closure.

Our roading teams worked hard throughout December to prepare our roads for a surge in traffic over the summer.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has confirmed detour routes and dates ahead of the upcoming closure of State Highway 1 (SH1) Brynderwyn Hills for critical restoration work.

Our district is buzzing with summer. Everywhere I go in Kaipara our communities and our many visitors can be seen making the most of these sunshine hours.

Roading crews have made strong progress improving and stabilising the local alternative routes around the Brynderwyn Hills in anticipation of additional traffic due to the upcoming closure of SH1 Brynderwyn Hills. 

We are now into the final stretch of 2023 and are pushing hard to complete outstanding work before the end of the year.

New facilities are on the cards for Pine Beach campground at Taharoa Domain. 

Despite the unexpected interruption from Cyclone Lola,October was a very productive month on roads across Kaipara.

More than half of the 71 slips still impacting Kaipara roads in the wake of multiple severe weather events that hit Northland earlier this year should be repaired by the middle of next year.

Elected Members agreed to commence the first two stages of a multi-year project to increase the capacity of the Mangawhai Wastewater Scheme.

A number of infrastructure renewals and upgrades completed in recent years have strengthened water security in Kaipara.

We are only just on the other side of Winter and are already feeling the benefits of warmer and drier weather.

The end of another winter gave us some much-needed sunshine and blue skies. Now with Spring upon us and the days getting longer, our focus moves to pavement works.

The number of trustees administering Matakohe Cemetery is set to grow after Kaipara District Council agreed to proceed with a trustee appointment process.

The rainy weather persisted through July, resulting in 949 new pothole reports. To tackle the pothole issue, we introduced an additional pothole truck to speed up repairs.

An update from Kaipara District Council and Northland Regional Council.

The unsealed network has remained a significant point of focus throughout this traditionally rainy month.

Please do your part to help make our communities safe and accessible by parking in the right spot when you’re out and about

It’s been nearly six months since Cyclone Gabrielle, however we are still actively repairing damages and working through a substantial backlog.

This month, we have been primarily focused on clearing slips, performing tree and drainage works, and continuing with the unsealed rehabs program.

There are a number of roads impacted after heavy rainfall throughout the district on Tuesday 9 May 2023.

February’s extreme weather events have impacted roads across Kaipara. Our roading network has suffered significant long-lasting damage, and many issues will not be a simple fix. 

Our roading team were kept busy all summer, responding to urgent roading issues following the extreme weather events we’ve had.

Council has pressed pause on any changes to Kaipara’s waste and recycling services while a new waste strategy from central Government is assessed.

If you’re looking for some activities for your kiddies in the holidays there are exciting things happening at Kaipara Libraries for the April school holidays.

In the leadup to the reopening of the eastern Brynderwyns detour route (Kaiwaka/Mangawhai/Waipu), authorities have confirmed that restrictions will again apply to truck and trailer units.

Contractors working on the Lang’s Beach bridge on Cove Road have encountered further challenges, delaying the reopening of the bridge until Wednesday morning.

I am not sure anyone would have believed me had I said we would have to contend with another extreme weather event during the on-going aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Everyone has now left the overnight accommodation centres at Campbell Park Christian Camp, Moir Point Christian Camp and the community-led centre at St John's Hall in Kaiwaka.

UPDATED: 2.18PM Thursday 02 March 2023

Kaipara District continues to respond to the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle.

After February's extreme weather events, you or someone you know, may be feeling upset, exhausted, overwhelmed or uncertain. You don’t have to manage this on your own, there are free resources available to support you during this time.

This article with be updated as information on Kaipara's roading network is available. 

Our team worked hard throughout December, preparing our roads for the expected influx of summer traffic. 

On the final stretch of 2022, the team have been pushing hard to complete outstanding work before the end of the year. Work continues on both the unsealed and sealed networks in anticipation of the summer rush and the expected increase in traffic. 

Look after your loo and Kaipara's wastewater network this summer by reminding your household members and visitors what not to flush.

Kaipara’s population is expected to explode during the summer break, with people enjoying the district’s beaches, lakes, and vibrant communities. 

Summer holidays are fast approaching! During this time critical Council services continue, with some changes due to staff availability.

With the continued improvements in weather, we are now full swing into unsealed and sealed pavement works. We have approximately 50kms of road to reseal in the 2022/23 season.

Our roading team made the most of the warmer, drier weather that came our way in September.

Kaipara District Council staff are asking Mangawhai house owners and residents on the wastewater system to flush water through their drains, toilets and showers and prevent gases from backing up into their homes.

August brought a welcome reprieve from the wild weather and storm events of July. A total of 3,100 individual work items were completed throughout August.

A Mangawhai Wastewater Treatment Plant Advisory Group (MAG) is helping to guide a future strategy for the growing town’s wastewater disposal.

The first part of a multi-phase project to manage Council’s water and wastewater asset network more efficiently and improve its resilience is complete.

Wild, wet and windy weather kept crews busy in July. A total of 3,358 individual work items were completed throughout the month. 

Last week saw the first of the pre-cast concrete slabs for Mangawhai’s new wastewater balance tank carefully craned into place.

Maintenance activities have been widespread in June. During this typically wet period, there has been a focus on potholing, running metal and completing grading work.

Kaipara District Council’s operations and maintenance switches over to a new contractor next month.

In the bowels of Kaipara’s wastewater networks, rag monsters and fatbergs are causing havoc and costing ratepayers' money.

In May, we saw some great progress happening across the district. Sealed pavement rehabs are now complete, and the unsealed network has received the last of the PGF/IRG funding. 

Amendments to Kaipara District’s Speed Limits Bylaw were unanimously passed at the May Council Meeting, resulting in new speed limits in the Mangawhai – Kaiwaka (including Hakaru) and Kaiwaka West (including Oneriri Road and Oruawharo Road) areas. 

Work to improve the wastewater network in Kaiwaka is scheduled to begin on 23 May 2022. 

A new balance tank for Mangawhai's wastewater treatment plant is one step closer to completion, with the first pre-cast concrete slabs poured for the tank structure.

April’s relatively calm weather meant that Kaipara’s roading team could focus on jobs carrying over from previous months, and complete work on this year’s sealed pavement rehabs, unsealed heavy metal sites, and footpath kerb and channel renewals before the wet winter weather sets in.

Work is underway to implement new speed limits in the Mangawhai – Kaiwaka (including Hakaru) and Kaiwaka West (including Oneriri Road and Oruawharu Road) areas.

Projects to install new toilets in Mangawhai and Maungaturoto reached milestones recently, as the new facilities were delivered to their sites.

Works to improve the sewer pipe network in Dargaville is scheduled to begin on 19 April 2022.  

The Environment Court has given the green light to Mangawhai Central’s Private Plan Change 78 (PPC 78) to the Kaipara District Plan.

Two new footbridges were opened at a double ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Kaipara township of Kaiwaka on Saturday 26 March.

Work to build two new footbridges in Kaiwaka is entering its final stages. The footbridges provide a safer link for pedestrians to cross the river, improving connectivity for the Kaiwaka community.

Kaipara roading teams have been putting their time to good use during the dry season, preparing for autumn when the damper conditions enable new road pavement to be properly compacted.

The truss is now up on the abutments at the north bridge, with physical construction of the boardwalk starting last week. 

The council is upgrading wastewater systems and is asking people to flush responsibly.

The Council is about to start constructing a balance tank, to increase the capacity of the Mangawhai Community Wastewater Scheme.

The second season of road surfacing works commenced in the Kaipara District this month, after 14.4kms was completed in December 2021.

Representatives of the Pahi community met with Council at the wharf last week to work out where a new toilet block could go.

A small gathering, a prayer and a blessing to keep workers safe marked the start of the work on-site for the Kaiwaka footbridges.

The Kaipara District's roads continue to hold the right balance of moisture and dryness, which has allowed the NTA and Kaipara District Council to complete a lot of roading work this month, including grading on Avoca Rd, Avoca East Rd and Avoca North Rd.

A new balance tank and inlet works are to be installed at the Mangawhai wastewater treatment plant to expand the existing hydraulic capacity during the peak summer periods.

Kaipara District Council has adopted a report recommending new speed limits in the Mangawhai and Kaiwaka area. The adoption of this report paves the way for the introduction of lower speed limits this financial year.

A tomo (sinkhole) recently appeared on Gordon Street in Dargaville.

Work to install the Kaiwaka footbridges will start in early January and continue for around seven weeks. With it comes some great employment opportunities for local contractors.

With the Christmas holidays soon approaching, there will be some changes to a few Council services.

Kaipara District Council (KDC) has worked with other Northland Councils on a Drought Management Plan (DMP) to create a consistent drought classification system and approach.

As part of our Long Term Plan, we undertook to explore options to expand the capacity of the Mangawhai Wastewater Scheme to accommodate growth in the area and summer peak flows.

Considerations from Kaipara District about the Three Waters Reforms.

An update on where the roading team will be working across Kaipara in October. 

Kaipara District Council (KDC) began consultation today on a proposed model of representation.

The Council has awarded the contract to design and build the two Kaiwaka footbridges to Bridge It NZ.

Kaiwaka township has seen a number of safety improvements recently, with our team and contractors Ventia busy working along Kaiwaka-Mangawhai Road.

Kaipara District Council today endorsed a future-focused Long Term Plan (LTP) which aims to respond to a growing population while caring for the environment and keeping rates increases low. 

Nine infrastructure renewal projects are being rolled out across Kaipara District this year. 

Some of the works happening around the District. 

A number of improvements have been made at the Kaiwaka end of Kaiwaka-Mangawhai Road. 

Our Parks team and local contractors Turf Tamer recently completed work by the Kaiwaka River (north eastern side of the bridge).

Two footbridges are to be erected in Kaiwaka, parallel to State Highway 1 and crossing streams at the northern end of the township.

Kaiwaka footbridges will form part of the Kaiwaka walking and cycling network and will reduce severance caused by the state highway and rivers. 

Kaipara District Council has been consulting the community about lowering speed limits in the Mangawhai and Kaiwaka area. 

Kaipara District Council is seeking feedback on proposals to set new speed limits in the Mangawhai and Kaiwaka areas, including the Mangawhai urban area.