Waipā mayor Mike Pettit, right, with deputy Jo Davies-Colley
While Cambridge escaped the worst of the weather, farms on the western side of Waipā were hit hard, with a Pirongia farming family and Federated Farmers telling Jon Rawlinson about widespread flood damage and costly repairs.
The damage to a culvert on Corcoran Road near Te Pahu was significant. Photo: Supplied.
Cambridge largely dodged the worst of the weekend’s wild weather, but just over the hill it was a very different story where a State of Emergency was declared.
On the western side of Waipā, floodwaters tore through farms near Pirongia and Te Pahu, washing out bridges, fences and vital infrastructure and leaving families facing a long and costly clean-up.
Further south, Ōtorohanga was also hard hit.
Federated Farmers have launched a “farming army” in response.
Paul and Helen Reymer stand where their bridge once stood.
For the Reymer farm on Ormsby Road in Pirongia, replacing a bridge knocked out by the Valentine’s Weekend storms is top priority.
“We’ve never seen anything like it,” Jodi Reymer said.
“Our high bridge is gone, completely gone – we’ve never had water up to that level before.”
Near the bridge, water rose to approximately eight metres above its usual height.
“It sounds like the only thing insurance will cover is our boundary fence, so replacing the bridge is going to be a major expense for us,” said Jodi.
“Another urgent problem was our water supply system. The pipes were blown out. It’s not completely fixed, but at least we had water going again by Monday.”
Winter feed may be in short supply for some farmers due to the weather bomb but fortunately the Reymers were lucky.
Jodi Reymer inspects damage on her family’s farm
“Our feed is grown and stored on higher ground and we don’t grow a lot of maize, only a little to use here, so no losses there either, thankfully.
“Heaps of logs were washed down – including some massive trees – but it’s all native bush above us so it didn’t include pine,” said Jodi.
Although his farm wasn’t affected, another member of the Reymer family has been helping others, primarily in the shadow of Mount Pirongia.
Jodi’s uncle Andrew Reymer – who is the Te Awamutu Federated Farmers president – said support networks were quick to spring into action but they will still be needed over the coming weeks.
“Farmers have got on with it, with mates calling mates and neighbours calling neighbours. They’re all supporting each other,” he said.
Flood damage on the Reymer family farm
Flood damage on the Reymer family farm
Flood damage on the Reymer family farm
“We’ve been putting together a ‘farming army’ to help, and there is support through the Rural Support Trust – if people are really struggling, there are numbers to call.
“Not everybody was hit hard, but up the mountain, Pirongia, people were pretty badly affected.
“They had some big washouts with about 200mls of rain that tore out bridges and took everything along with it.”
Stock losses have been negligible and even infrastructure – especially fences – can be repaired. However, some damage can’t be fixed.
“Maize and some vegetable growers may have lost 100 per cent of their year’s income in just one storm. Some had a crop of maize about a month away from harvest that’s now been flattened. They’ll be hit hardest financially so they’re the ones I’d be most concerned about,” said Reymer.
Te Tahi Road near Pirongia where the water treatment plant was damaged by extensive flooding.
Waipā mayor Mike Pettit, right, with deputy Jo Davies-Colley were on the scene to inspect damage on Saturday and Sunday.
