There were very few answers, but plenty of frustration over gravel in the Mataura River at a meeting last week.
The Waimea Room of the James Cumming Community Centre in Gore last Thursday was packed.
Farmers sat beside Environment Southland councillors and workers, as they sat through presentations on the issue at hand — gravel in the Mataura River.
Environment Southland acknowledged the issue over flooding, showing their work in the region to curb damage and mitigate the problem.
Their current policy of rock armouring around the banks was on trial, opposed to the regular clearing of gravel from the stream.
However, it seemed the real problem was the passing of responsibility from party to party, with action hamstrung by legislative and legal responsibility.
It was hard to find an owner responsible for the gravel beneath the two bridges in Gore, with nobody willing to touch it.
Team leader of catchment operations Dave Connor said the organisation was even talking to KiwiRail and Waka Kotahi NZTA over sharing responsibility.
However, Mataura Catchment Liaison committee chairman Hugh Gardyne said it defied belief Environment Southland did not take responsibility and just get it done.
Mr Connor said it was not as simple as it seemed, requiring consents and engineering and the like, and his team was doing everything in its power to remedy the problem.
After Mr Connor suggested Environment Southland would fully support anyone who wanted to take the gravel away, the room descended into scoffs and muttered disbelief.
One Mataura resident stood up, stating he had heard it all before at a meeting six years ago, and questioned why nothing had been done.
Gravel was even piling up near Mataura, he said, which had caused a major flood a few years ago leading to the evacuation of the paper mill.
The bank near the Alliance Group’s cold storage was eroding further with a massive gravel pile-up, and he said his concerns had fallen on deaf ears as the problem grew greater.
Mr Gardyne again suggested Environment Southland was going around in circles, with a lack of communication.
"We’re paying rates, with nothing to show for it," he said.
Environment Southland councillor Jeremy McPhail addressed the crowd, stating he and his fellow council understood the issues but were in the same boat.
Councils and farms worked differently, he said, with a different interpretation of risk, but said it was time to get moving and hoped they were making headway.
Councillor Jon Pemberton agreed, and said the plans in place were the most advanced in the country but legislation was constantly interfering with decisions.
The team was working very hard, he said, and he was not sure how much more it could do beyond continuing to be vocal and advocate for the issue.
"It’s a frustrating space. We need to get something in place, got to have something in the tool box," he said.
