New milestone for Piako River mouth

A new milestone has been reached in Waikato Regional Council’s Piako River mouth right stopbank asset rationalisation project.

e project seeks to replace three old oodgates near their end of life with one, while also creating a shorebird habitat and a pond for sh life (tuna/eels).

e latest milestone is the installation of a culvert, 4m wide x 2.5m high x 18.6m long and weighing 14.7 tonnes, which will connect new drainage from the south to the new pond and oodgate structure, which has yet to be built, says a Waikato Regional Council spokesperson.

“ e drains will move excess water from the land through the pond and into the Piako River.

is project was started in 2020 after getting approval of $1.92m in funding from Kanoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit.

“ e site was once paddocks that had become inundated by the sea after a king tide burst through a private stopbank.

“It was being used by shorebirds for foraging and roosting on old farm equipment before being purchased by the council for this project.”

So far, the council has:

• repaired the stopbank breach

• removed mangrove seedlings from the new shorebird habitat area

• removed the old farm infrastructure and used sediment from the site to create more natural raised roosting areas in the habitat area

• excavated drains to move excess water

• excavated the pond to support sh life year round

Vital testing of milk machines

With a background in the dairy industry through engineering, milking machines and water pumps, Jim Oliver knows “all too well” the importance of having an e cient milking machine.

“It’s literally the heart of the dairy – its performance a huge in uencer on production, milk quality and animal health.”

As the owner operator of Joes Water, Jim says milk machine testing is one of the most vital services he provides to dairy farmers across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

“Winter is traditionally the best time to get milking machines tested but we are also on call throughout the season to conduct tests to help isolate the cause of mastitis or grades.” e requirement for all milking machine to have an annual inspection carried out by a registered tester is mandatory to meet international ISO standards.

“At a farm level, DairyNZ say faulty milking equipment is estimated to cause as many as 40-50 per cent of new clinical cases of mastitis – so there are plenty of incentives to get the check done.

“ e inspection takes a few hours. We test the e ciency of all the components of the milking machine – vacuum, milk pump and pulsation; we check for leaks and assess its overall performance with recommendations for any remedial action to bring it up to its optimum performance.

“I am now a certi ed NZ Milking Pump Trade Association tester and enjoy the opportunity to help farmers maximise the performance of one of the most vital assets on the farm.”

• created new stopbanks and moved a stopbank • put in the culvert

Read more about the project here: https://www. waikatoregion.govt.nz/council/about-us/shovelready-projects/piako-river-mouth/

And about the shorebird habitat area here: https://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/story-hub/ keith-woodley/