Silt build-up makes Whakatāne berths unusable – boaties

A Whakatāne boat owner says he's had about $30,000 worth of damage to his boat due to silt build-up around council berths.

A recent extra low tide revealed river silt had built up around berths between the Whakatāne Yacht Club and the main Whakatāne wharf near the fishing club to such a degree that several boats were sitting on the river bottom.

The boat owner, who asked not to be named, said he was cautious about speaking out as it wasn’t easy to get a berth in Whakatāne.

He said boaties feared speaking up, at the risk of being told to just go elsewhere and lose their berth.

Whakatāne District Council ports manager Mark Read said the council had not received any formal complaints from berth holders regarding the recent low tide event, but sediment build-up was a natural process.

The council was exploring ways to address it once whitebait season was over at the end of October, he said.

However, the boat owner said many boats had electronic transducers on the bottom of the hull worth up to $4000 each that are damaged if the boat is sitting in silt.

He paid over $10,000 a year for a berth in Whakatāne and was currently having to berth his boat in Tauranga because of the silting issue.

Another boat owner, who did not wish to be named for the same reason, said there was a lack of maintenance on council facilities, but those facilities have cost the ratepayer a lot of money.

He said during the low tide last week, at least one boat on the main wharf was sitting on the bottom, at least three at Otuawhaki Wharf, also known as the Green Wharf, and all of the boats at the Whakatāne Yacht Club, which is not a council-owned facility.

The pontoon walkways to access the berths that are supposed to float on the surface were also sitting on the silt and had been damaged, causing trip hazards for people boarding the boats, he said.

At least two people boarding his boat from the walkway had tripped recently, an elderly man and a young child.

"The council needs to maintain them because those facilities will be getting wrecked and they will cost a lot more to replace than they will to maintain."

While the tide had been lower than other months, it illustrated that maintenance wasn’t happening and the boats were sitting on the bottom.

"Unless the maintenance happens, this is going to be an ongoing problem ... because the silt just keeps building up."

Read said that following several significant storms and floods over winter, higher-than-usual sediment levels had accumulated in the river system.

"Our team has already cleared the boat and waka ama ramps multiple times as a result. We are aware of the issue as it affects all our facilities. The team is exploring several options to address it once whitebait season has ended."

Read said sediment build-up was a natural process influenced by river flow and weather events, and some areas, such as Otuawhaki Wharf, were more prone to it due to their location outside the main river current.

"Council operates its dredging programme on a limited budget and prioritises work to where it is most needed," he said.

At the end of 2024, the council had engaged Bay Underwater Services to carry out contingency dredging at Otuawhaki Wharf to remove sediment that had built up under the pontoons over several years, leaving them sitting out of the water at low tide. This work had been undertaken outside of the regular annual dredging programme.

"We encourage any affected berth holders to follow the correct process by logging a service request through our website or contacting the ports team directly at harbours@whakatane.govt.nz so we can assess individual concerns.

"We understand the importance of the harbour to our boating community and are committed to maintaining safe and functional facilities."