Waikato Regional Council

WAIKATO — The Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management Group emergency coordinating centre in Hamilton says a marine tsunami threat has been confirmed after the earthquake this morning in the Tonga-Kermadec trench to the north-east of New Zealand.

247 views

WAIKATO — A website launched 12 years ago to divert thousands of tonnes of waste from landfill has been revamped to make the free exchange of reusable items easier.

380 views

WAIKATO — The changing climate and how it can affect you will be the subject of a free public seminar hosted by Waikato Regional Council and featuring weather expert Jim Salinger, Lincoln University professor Caroline Saunders and business commentator Rod Oram.

107 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Regional Council has formally lodged a new resource consent application to undertake mangrove removal as a part of wider catchment work at Whangamata.

120 views

WAIKATO — Waikato residents can have their say on public transport services, with the Waikato Regional Council this week adopting its draft 10-year public transport plan for consultation.

117 views

HAMILTON — Hamilton’s abundant winter flower supplies are expected to draw bellbirds and tui to the city and Waikato Regional Council is encouraging members of the public to report any sightings.

373 views

WAIKATO — A road safety campaign has been launched in the Waikato to cut the number of fatal crashes involving business fleet vehicles.

138 views

WAIKATO — Waikato residents will get the chance to have their say on a $6 million capital funding request for a cycling centre of excellence near Cambridge.

270 views

TAUPO — The Environment Court has now formally approved a new Waikato Regional Council policy aimed at protecting water quality in Lake Taupo, meaning farmers around the lake will need to apply for a resource consent to continue farming.

336 views

WAIKATO — Environmental monitoring of the Awakino river and coastal marine area is set to continue after the end of an oil spill clean-up involving the Waikato Regional Council, Department of Conservation (DoC), Massey University, and trucking company Transpacific.

92 views

WAIKATO — Massey University, Department of Conservation and Waikato Regional Council are ramping up their wildlife response at Awakino after investigations this morning showed more birdlife has been affected by an oil spill than initially thought.

200 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Regional Council will today be assessing the need to continue with the clean-up operation in the Awakino River following Wednesday’s oil spill.

322 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Regional Council says most of the oil spilled into the Awakino River yesterday afternoon appears to have gone out to sea overnight and that an initial assessment indicates no major environmental impacts around the river mouth or on the coast.

116 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Regional Council has nine staff on the ground around Awakino as it seeks to contain a 20,000 litre oil spill into the Awakino River.

120 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Regional Council staff will on Thursday morning be assessing options for helping clean up an oil spill into the Awakino River.

127 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Regional Council this week outlined a new strategic direction for regional development aimed at protecting the environment and boosting regional export growth and income.

104 views

WAIKATO — A new five-year draft plan to enhance the capability of the Waikato region to respond to disasters has been approved for public consultation by the Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Group.

169 views

WAIKATO — For every dollar regional ratepayers put into a programme restoring Waikato’s eroded and vulnerable dunes they get $5 back, the environment committee has heard.

110 views

HAMILTON — Waikato Regional Council will carry out further investigations before deciding to consult with the public over whether to put up $6 million to build a world-class velodrome near Cambridge.

268 views

HAMILTON — The theme of farmers “Caring locally, competing globally” will be the feature of the Waikato Regional Council’s Fieldays stand between 15 June and 18 June.

136 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Regional Council has given nine community projects a boost, with a combined total of $208,500 being awarded from the environmental initiatives fund (EIF).

176 views

HUNTLY — A new memorandum of agreement (MOA) aimed at helping better protect lakes and wetlands in Waikato District is being signed on Tuesday 7 June at 8am at the Twin Lakes Event Centre in Huntly.

644 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Regional Council has finalised its work programme and budget for the year beginning 1 July, with an overall rates increase to existing ratepayers of 2.6 per cent.

108 views

WAIKATO — Dirty and dangerous discharges of effluent from stock trucks appear to be on the increase in the Waikato and the regional council has written to trucking firms asking them to take action to stop this practice.

471 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Regional Council is backing a new Upper North Island Strategic Alliance which will see seven councils working together to make the most of sustainable development and economic growth opportunities.

182 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Regional Council has welcomed a Government announcement that it will contribute $15.2 million towards phase two of the Tui Mine remediation project at Te Aroha.

143 views

COROMANDEL — A nine year project to provide 100 year flood protection to people and property in a Coromandel Peninsula town has entered its final stage.

690 views

WAIKATO — By Bala Tikkisetty A cautious approach is recommended when it comes to applying nitrogen fertilisers to pasture during winter.

121 views

RAGLAN — People are being urged to exercise extreme caution on the west coast of the Waikato region due to a heavy swells warning.

329 views

HAMILTON — Four Waikato teenagers passionate about the environment have returned from a national forum eager to use the knowledge gained during the event to improve their communities.

833 views

WHANGAMATA — An all day oil spill exercise is due to be carried out at Whangamata Harbour on Tuesday 24 May by Waikato Regional Council, Whangamata Marina staff and other associated agencies.

365 views

WAIKATO — Motorists are being urged to drive with their headlights on at all times over winter to help reduce the risk of crashes.

120 views

WAIKATO — The Government’s new national water policy statement reinforces work already underway in the Waikato to improve water quality in the region’s rivers, lakes and streams, says Waikato Regional Council chairman Peter Buckley.

111 views

WAIKATO — An independent hearings committee has granted Waikato Regional Council’s river and catchment services group permission to extract up to 150,000 cubic metres per year of river bed material, including debris, from the Tongariro River for flood management and erosion control purposes.

114 views

HAMILTON — A Silver Fern railcar service from Hamilton to Auckland’s inner city Strand station (the old main station) is now the preferred option for getting Hamilton-Auckland commuter rail up and running.

255 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Regional Council has announced the names of the successful appointees to be the 2011-14 landowner and community representatives on catchment liaison sub-committees The sub-committees consider local issues in particular catchments, have a say in the way council funding is used locally and provide advice to the council’s full catchment services committee.

372 views

WAIKATO — A joint Waikato mayoral appeal has collected more than $60,000 for quake-hit Christchurch.

273 views

WAIKATO — Duck shooters preparing for the start of the hunting season are being reminded by Waikato Regional Council to pack lifejackets for each person on board their boat.

115 views

WAIKATO — By Bala Tikkisetty As winter approaches, it is a good time for farmers to prepare for the potential impacts of stock wintering on soil health and water quality.

174 views

WAIKATO — A South American beetle with exclusive tastes has been released for the first time in the Waikato region as a biological control agent for the pest plant Tradescantia fluminensis (commonly known as wandering jew or wandering willy).

597 views

COROMANDEL — A Waikato Regional Council scheme is making more than 18,000 native shrubs and trees available for planting on the Coromandel Peninsula this year.

322 views

CAMBRIDGE — The Waikato Regional Council will formally review the Home of Cycling proposal before making a decision about consulting with the public on whether to put up to $6 million toward the proposed world-class velodrome in Cambridge.

462 views

WAIKATO — A newly signed off Regional Land Transport Strategy for 2011-2041 will help lay the foundations for good economic growth in the Waikato region, says the chair of the multi-agency Regional Transport Committee.

293 views

TAUPO — Efforts to protect Lake Taupo by reducing nitrogen inputs to the lake are proving to be highly successful to date.

1,078 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management Group is urging residents to be alert for the impacts of strong winds that are currently buffeting the region, particularly Taupo and South Waikato.

261 views

WAIKATO — Waikato rivers are coping well with the heavy rain in parts of the region over the past 24 hours.

237 views

A Waikato Regional Council team has travelled to Thailand to help remedy one of the country’s most polluted rivers, the Tha Chin River.

121 views

WAIKATO — A four year project working with farmers in the upper Waikato River catchment is helping the Waikato Regional Council develop its land and water policies.

112 views

WAIKATO — The record popularity of this year’s Balloons Over Waikato event has been reinforced by data showing that buses carried more than 16,000 passengers to and from the event, a 65 per cent increase over 2010.

221 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Regional Council today adopted a new strategic direction that will see it take more of a leadership role in regional development.

132 views

RAGLAN — A course aimed at saving the lives of boaties crossing the notorious Raglan bar is being held next month by Coastguard Raglan, with support from Environment Waikato.

462 views

HAMILTON — Environment Waikato is again operating special bus services for people attending the Balloons over Waikato Nightglow event at Waikato University this Saturday 2 April and the ITM400 Hamilton from 15-17 April.

827 views

WAIKATO — Waikato Civil Defence is warning people to be aware of the dangers posed by heavy rain expected to hit the Coromandel later today, while a weather watch is also in place for the rest of the Waikato.

584 views

HAMILTON — Environment Waikato is warning Hamilton residents about a potential tree removal scam involving a woman impersonating a regional council biosecurity officer.

472 views

WAIKATO — Visitors to Te Aroha’s Domain Day will have the chance to peer into the depths of the Tui Mine, New Zealand’s most contaminated site, without even getting their feet dirty.

223 views

WAIKATO — Environment Waikato consents for a planned sand extraction and processing operation to be run by Titoki Sands Limited at Tamahere have been granted by independent hearings commissioner Graeme Ridley.

166 views

WAIKATO — Helicopter monitoring has shown dairy farm compliance with regional effluent management rules is improving significantly so far this season, new figures from Environment Waikato show.

226 views

COROMANDEL — A marine threat remains in place for Waikato’s east coast this morning and people are being urged to stay away from the ocean and other waterways, with tidal gauges detecting the first surges in the area.

363 views

WAIKATO — Waikato region’s coastal residents are being urged to stay away from the ocean and other waterways after a tsunami marine threat for New Zealand was issued following an earthquake in Japan.

558 views

WAIKATO — By Bala Tikkisetty It’s unclear how many old tyres are discarded annually in the Waikato but it’s estimated about four million a year are used up nationally, generating about 36,000 tonnes of waste.

420 views

WAIKATO — A meeting being organised by Environment Waikato in association with Federated Farmers is offering dry stock farmers the chance to get up to speed with some key issues associated with dry-stock farming.

187 views

WAIKATO — Environment Waikato has issued an alert about rising river and lake levels following a heavy rain warning from MetService.

260 views

RAGLAN — Coastguard Raglan, with support from Environment Waikato, is again offering to help boaties with information on how to cross the notorious Raglan bar and to be generally safer at sea.

307 views

WAIKATO — Thirty-nine people who have self-evacuated from Christchurch to the Waikato have registered through Work and Income but there are many more now sheltering in the region following last week’s earthquake.

138 views

CHRISTCHURCH — The number of people being deployed to Christchurch through the Waikato Civil Defence Emergency Management Group is growing.

197 views

WAIKATO — A comprehensive land and water strategy for sustainable agriculture will be a major area of work for Environment Waikato in the next financial year, and will need to take into account a wide range of economic and environmental issues.

267 views

WAIKATO — Waikato people are responding generously with offers of free accommodation for people needing to leave Christchurch following the earthquake.

490 views

CHRISTCHURCH — The Waikato response to the Canterbury earthquake is continuing this morning with the finalising of details of a collective mayoral relief fund and the assistance the region can offer Christchurch.

185 views

CHRISTCHURCH — Waikato councils are being asked to establish a collective mayoral relief fund to help Christchurch in the wake of the latest devastating earthquake.

132 views

HAMILTON — A long-term trial of three ‘bat boxes’ in Hamilton’s Hammond Park could provide the safe havens needed by the area’s threatened native long-tailed bats, says Environment Waikato.

839 views

WAIKATO — Every minute an eight metre pole is being driven into the banks of the Piako River at Ngatea in the first stage of a multi-million dollar project for the area.

752 views

RAGLAN — A tide gauge is expected to be installed in Raglan’s Manu Bay this weekend and will provide data valuable to scientists, as well as local boaties and surfers.

424 views

WAIKATO — The pest plant tutsan has become a major problem around Taumarunui and Ruapehu near the regional border and is starting to move aggressively into neighbouring Waikato areas, says Environment Waikato’s biosecurity team.

985 views

WAIKATO — Environment Waikato’s policy and strategy committee has formally supported the idea of fish farming in the Firth of Thames but has made suggestions about how it is introduced.

463 views

WHANGAMATA — An Environment Waikato pest management programme at Onemana, north of Whangamata, is reviving the area’s pohutakawa trees.

352 views

WAIKATO — Two consecutive weekends of wild weather in the Waikato late last month underlined the increased risks the region faces from river flooding, Environment Waikato’s river and catchment services committee heard yesterday.

266 views

WAIKATO — Environment Waikato is keen to see a speeding up of research into new pest toxins that can be approved for spreading by helicopter, says regional pest management committee chair Laurie Burdett.

105 views

HAMILTON — A fledgling bellbird has been sighted in Hamilton more than a century after the species was thought to have become locally extinct.

270 views

WAIKATO — New activities to help drive regional economic growth feature in Environment Waikato’s 2011/12 draft budget.

305 views

TAURANGA — Tauranga’s Bay Hopper bus services are running again and buses are on schedule after flooding of the Go Bus depot caused delays in getting buses onto the road this morning.

404 views

WAIKATO — Heavy overnight rain in the Waikato region has led to a number of slips and road closures on the Coromandel and northern Waikato, while a number of rivers and streams have overflowed their banks leading to localized surface flooding in some parts.

309 views

WAIKATO — Waikato’s wetlands are environmental “nurseries” that support healthy animals, plants and water quality, says Environment Waikato sustainable agriculture coordinator Bala Tikkisetty.

146 views

WAIKATO — Recent rain has helped restore crucial soil moisture to above average levels in the Waikato, says a sub-group of the Waikato Regional Drought Committee, with further rain forecast this weekend.

189 views

WAIKATO — Environment Waikato says the potential for weather-related problems across the Waikato this weekend has grown with a fresh weather warning from MetService.

292 views

WAIKATO — Resource consents related to a King Country Energy (KCE) proposal to build a new hydro dam on the Mokau River have been granted by Environment Waikato (EW) and the Waitomo District Council (WDC).

356 views

WAIKATO — People should expect Lake Taupo and the Waipa and Waikato rivers to continue rising over the next two days even though rain is forecast to ease across the Waikato region.

351 views

WAIKATO — About 300 campers were being evacuated from a Taupo campground this morning as Waikato authorities prepare for widespread flooding across the region.

348 views

WAIKATO — The multi-agency Rail Working Group looking at the feasibility of a new Hamilton-Auckland passenger rail service yesterday asked for further investigations into three options for advancing the inter-regional service.

184 views

WAIKATO — A potentially toxic blue-green algal bloom has been detected in Lake Ohakuri, the largest lake in the Waikato River hydro system.

233 views

WAIKATO — Environment Waikato’s navigation safety team is reminding skippers to follow the region’s navigation safety bylaw after a collision between two boats put two children in hospital at the weekend.

332 views

WAIKATO — Bar crossings are the highest risk activity boaties in the Waikato will come across.

334 views

WAIKATO — Recent rain in the Waikato has been an “early Christmas present” for farmers but the region-wide drought was far from over, a meeting of the multi-agency regional drought committee heard today.

216 views

WAIKATO — Environment Waikato is adding the South American lace bug to its armoury of pest plant control methods as it seeks to eliminate woolly nightshade in the region.

634 views

WAIKATO — An Environment Waikato spraying programme targeting yellow flag iris along the Waikato River around Huntly and downstream is due to get underway in February next year.

307 views

WAIKATO — A kayak and paddle found floating in the middle of the notorious Raglan bar last Sunday morning resulted in an unnecessary and costly search effort.

203 views

WAIKATO — As pressure on livestock farms, crops and orchards mounts due to the drought conditions in the region, Environment Waikato is reminding water users about the rules governing takes from waterways and groundwater.

220 views

WAIKATO — The Government’s official declaration of a drought in the Waikato has been welcomed by the regional drought committee.

276 views

WAIKATO — People using areas near the coasts of the Waikato region this summer are being asked to be careful not to damage salt marsh.

158 views

WAIKATO — Significant infrastructure issues remain to be overcome before a Hamilton-Auckland passenger rail service can become a reality, says the chair of a multi-agency working group looking at the issue.

118 views

WAIKATO — New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) consent applications related to the building of the Ngaruawahia section of the Waikato Expressway have been granted in a decision by independent hearing commissioners appointed by Environment Waikato and Waikato District Council.

176 views