On Tuesday November 26, project partners Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council and iwi collective Te Wahapū o Waihī officially broke ground on a first-of-its-kind wetland bordering the Waihī Estuary.

Currently known as the Cutwater Road wetland, this unique project is the first of many which aims to create a ‘korowai around the Waihī Estuary’ – a protective buffer of wetlands that will help restore the health and mauri of this highly degraded area.

To mark the occasion, Regional Council staff, along with iwi and hapū leaders, local government officials and members of the community, gathered at dawn for a karakia at the Cutwater Road site.

Toi Moana Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chief Executive Fiona McTavish acknowledged the effort and work that has happened behind the scenes to reach this stage.

“The Waihī Estuary is one of the most degraded in the country, so when we began looking at what we could do, this project felt almost impossible. To see where we are today, and to reach such a significant milestone, is an incredible achievement for all involved.”

Mrs McTavish also recognised that this project could not have come to fruition without the partnership between Regional Council, Te Wahapū o Waihi and local farmers.

Te Wahapū o Waihī Project Lead Professor Kura Paul-Burke shared in this sentiment.

"This whenua is a place for gathering kai, a seasonal papakainga for our tupuna. It is heartwarming walking the whenua alongside such a broad range of stakeholders, united around returning health to the estuary," she said.

Over the next 18 months, the Cutwater Road site will transform from a 30ha dairy farm into a 27ha coastal treatment wetland and a 3ha tidal coastal wetland. Once complete, both wetlands will help improve water quality and biodiversity, contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation outcomes through carbon storage, and support the cultural and recreational values of the area.

To achieve this unique project, 109 hectares of land was initially purchased on Cutwater Road, Pukehina, with 79 hectares on-sold to a neighbouring farm.

This project has been funded 50% by Regional Council and 50% from Te Wahapū o Waihī through the Ministry for the Environment’s Freshwater Improvement Fund and is one of several ambitious projects that Regional Council and Te Wahapū o Waihī have partnered on in the Waihī Estuary catchment.

The Waihī Estuary has been identified as one of the most degraded wetlands in the country due to decades of wetland drainage, river channelisation, land use change and contaminated runoff throughout the 35,000-hectare catchment. Significant change is needed to return the estuary to a moderate state of ecological health.

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