A flooding incident that damaged the Haven of Grace women's refuge building was caused by a large amount of gravel being washed down from another property further up the road reports Tauranga City Council.

A wall of water struck the refuge during heavy flooding on Monday last week destroying thousands of dollars of furniture and personal items of the women staying here.

TCC reports a buildup of gravel blocked a stormwater catch pit and diverted excess water into the property.

Haven of Grace director Vicki Mcnamara points to where the water levels reached when the refuge was flooded.

TCC reports approximately 60 callouts to the council's maintenance contractor as a result of the rain last week.

A small number of property flood incidents were reported along with numerous other sites, mostly for road flooding.

Follow up investigation is now being done to determine possible cause and what remedial works could be done to help minimise these.

Work is continuing to restore various sites around the city damaged by heavy rain in the last two weeks.

Site restoration work is being completed in the Otumoetai Golf course open drain improvements, which Tauranga City Council reports will be completed in the appropriate weather and ground conditions suit.

This information from Tauranga City Council weekly bulletin for the week beginning Monday, August 6 published below.

City Waters

• Two sewer overflows affected waterways this week. One in Sterling Gate has occurred twice in two weeks, the first time from a blockage during bad weather and the second was from fat blockage. The blockage has been thoroughly cleared and the pipe is being investigated further in case there are problems with it. An overflow in Third Avenue was the result of system overloading during the heavy rain.

Parks & Leisure

• Assessment of damage to various walkway links around the city is underway after the recent rough weather. The Daisy Hardwick Walkway was hit particularly hard with a long section of seawall collapsing and the high tides and winds eroding the surface on remaining sections. This walkway is closed. Signs are in place at each end of the track to show the recommended detour via Goods and Maxwells roads.
• Three other slips affected walkways across the city. These are being cleared without causing further damage, as weather permits. The walkways concerned are the western track in the Gordon Carmichael Reserve, the walkway between Hamilton and West Streets and Tom Muir Drive walkway.
• The coast took a battering this week with strong onshore winds, big seas and the beach was left littered with a lot of organic matter including many large dead trees and logs. We have been fortunate to have such a good dune buffer system in place to protect the coast line. It is a good opportunity to reflect upon the value of Coast Care and all dune restoration planting programs and the protection they provide against potential flooding along coastal zones.

Transportation

• Construction Sites: Watch for construction vehicle movements around large commercial construction sites at:
• Doncaster Road: Weather permitting, work to construct a new footpath link between Summerlands Crescent and The Gardens Drive is due to start this week. This is expected to be completed towards the end of August.
• Waihi Road: Weather permitting, work to construct a new footpath link between Jonathan Street and Tamatea Arikinui Drive is due to start this week. This is expected to be completed mid August.
• Maxwells Road: Work to renew the kerb and channel on the first 200m section of Maxwells Road (on the Waikareo Estuary side) is complete except for some minor finishing off work.
• Moffatt Road / SH2: Work to install new sewer mains in Moffat Road and on SH2 near the intersection with Moffat Road is continuing. The work is being done off the road and should not affect traffic but please take care when driving through the area.
• Overhead Power lines: Maintenance work to replace overhead powerlines is continuing in Windermere Drive, Poike Road and Oropi Road. The work is weather dependent. Please watch for road works signs and drive carefully in these streets.
• Ultrafast Broadband: Work to install Ultrafast Broadband is being done in the mid Avenues area (4th -15th and Gate Pa and Greerton) and at the Mount in the residential areas of Maunganui Road to Marine Parade and Central Parade area. Most of the work is being done off the road.

- Police Station Site Willow Street

- 24 Pacific Avenue

- Horny Bull Site, The Strand

- 518 Cameron Road

- 40 Selwyn Street at the corner of Elizabeth Street and Selwyn Street.

Venues and Events

Baycourt Community and Arts Centre

• The Night Is Young, Wednesday 8 August, 7:30pm. This is a variety showcase featuring seven Tauranga Secondary Schools throughout the evening.
• Global Connexions, Saturday 11 August, 7:30pm. The Bay of Plenty Secondary Schools Fashion and Art Competition is in its ninth year. The evening will include a fashion show and an award ceremony.
  

Libraries

• A Justice of the Peace is now at Tauranga City Library in the Okahukura Meeting Room every Friday between 12pm and 2pm.
• Also on Fridays, two top-notch genealogists (Heather McLean and Billie Carpenter) will be available to help people with their New Zealand genealogical research. They will be at the Tauranga City Library upstairs research area between 1.30pm and 4pm every Friday during August.