A message from the Council:

We’ve made the tough call to close the Whiteacre Memorial track at Waikanae Cemetery [lower centre on the map] following significant flood damage and persistent ponding due to high groundwater levels.

The ground is too wet to reinstate a path, or even get the machinery in that we would need to use to undertake the work. A large number of trees have also died after becoming waterlogged and are now a safety risk.

Flooding from raised groundwater (sometimes called groundwater inundation) is having a significant impact on private property throughout the district, and on Council’s land, infrastructure, and work programmes.