Meet Swampy, the purpose-built amphibious excavator that has begun dredging the pop-up garden patch growing out of the Taylor River in central Blenheim.
By Kira Carrington of Local Democracy Reporting
The Marlborough District Council’s rivers and drainage engineering manager, Andy White, said watching the digger make its way down to the river and through the weeds on Monday was “quite a sight”.
“It was evident from how high the excavator was sitting in the river the extent of the silt that has built up in the river channel.”
Swampy is the “outside the box” brainchild of the council and its contractor, Gill Construction, which faced the unique problem of how to access the section of river between the Alfred St bridge and the State Highway 1 rail bridge.
White said there was an ongoing sediment issue, especially in the wake of last year’s flood events.
“In March 2025, we collectively settled upon the use of an amphibious excavator but sourcing a machine capable of squeezing beneath the various road bridges proved a challenge,” White said.
After sourcing a machine from Australia, Gill Construction “worked around the clock” to upgrade and refit Swampy for the job, White said.
Thanks to its “innovative design” Swampy can float in shallow waters, allowing it to operate in delicate ecosystems with minimal disruption, White said.
“Swampy is testament to the innovation our rivers team and local contractors are employing to provide sustainable, affordable solutions to river and flood risk issues that the community have been seeking for some time.”
Swampy would dredge silt from a 150-metre stretch of the river throughout January, to be loaded onto small trucks on the northern side. The dredging would be finished by February and tidy-up works would be completed by March.
The path along the Taylor River is closed on both sides of the dredging site, with the north side fenced off up to the Ōpaoa Loop confluence by the Boathouse Theatre.
The council has already removed the Crinoline Bridge footbridge.
On completion, the council’s parks and open spaces team would begin redecking the boardwalk on both sides of the river.
White said the dredging would create more flood capacity as part of Blenheim’s flood control system.
The works are part of a two-phase dredging of the Taylor River set out in the council’s Long Term Plan to ensure its flood carrying capacity. The first phase was completed before last June’s flood event.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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