Weir proposed for Maitai

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Councillors are considering the idea of a weir at the bottom of the Maitai River to help keep the river bed tidy and make more of a feature of the river.

Stoke man George Truman says a half tide weir made out of boulders near Trailways would tidy the river and would be a low cost option to beautify the area, hide green slime and allow the water to run better. And it has some support.

Nelson mayor Aldo Miccio says he personally likes the idea and would like to see a report further investigating it.

Any proposal would need resource consent.

George says he floated the idea a decade ago and it was not considered. He says he tried again because it could be a feature for the city. The half weir would be five feet high so water and fish could still travel over it easily.

“What I proposed was a weir made out of boulders similar to what’s at the Bridge St bridge. It isn’t going to cost a fortune and if it’s only at half tide height, the whitebait can swim over the top of the rocks and still come up the river.”

He says when the tide came in it would lift any debris and float it out to sea, so it would end up reasonably tidy. “In the redevelopment of the CBD in Christchurch they are going to make a feature of the river and we in Nelson don’t make as much use of the river as we could.”

George says now would be a good time to consider the project as the council is getting ready to remove flood material from the river.

He says iwi will need to be consulted, “but the river is pretty artificial anyway”.