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Mayor back at the helm as storm hits

Thames-Coromandel Mayor Philippa Barriball has returned to full duties and is at the Civil Defence Headquarters in Thames urging residents to stay where they are and avoid any unnecessary travel.

After several weeks working from home while recovering from viral meningitis, the Mayor is back on duty and assisting the efforts of civil defence as the district deals with the effects of the second severe storm to hit in a week.

"The key message here is that we have most communities isolated due to road closures from slips and flooding, and with a rising tide we want people to stay put and avoid travelling if possible. There are some power outages which are being worked on at present and we are dealing with other problems as a result of the storm," she says.

Other council services affected by the storm include;

Water

Water treatment plants across the district are coping with elevated stream levels and degraded quality of raw water. There is a moderate demand for water however and all plants are performing satisfactorily at this stage.

Wastewater

The district's wastewater treatment plants are operating at their full capacity and measures are being taken at the Thames wastewater treatment plant to manage the large volumes entering the plant. It is expected problems will lessen during the day with rain having subsided from around 9am. There have been some overflows in parts of Thames and a cleanup has been completed or is under way.

Coromandel wastewater overflows

There has been an overflow of partially treated wastewater from the secondary treatment retention ponds at the Coromandel wastewater treatment plant. Additionally a minor overflow of the main aeration pond occurred into adjacent flooded paddocks. Monitoring will be carried out to confirm levels of contamination.

Refuse collections

Coromandel town and north refuse and recycling collection has been postponed due to flooding at Manaia. The normal collection will now be carried out tomorrow. Areas south of Manaia bridge will still be collected as usual today.

Road closures

Roads closed due to slips are Kennedy Bay Road, The 309 and Tapu Coroglen. Roads closed due to flooding are Hotwater Beach Road (at the first bridge); Kauaeranga Valley Road, Hikuai Settlement Road at bridge by Prescott's Garage and Wentworth Valley Road. All Fords unpassable due to high water levels.