Idyllic waters turned to torrent
A Coroner is calling for a law change to ban swimming at a popular Taupo¯ rapids after a young woman drowned trying to help a friend.
Coroner Wallace Bain believes another tragedy is likely unless more action than the present warning signs and sirens are put in place around Aratiatia Rapids.
Rachael De Jong, 21, was swimming with six friends in the Waikato River downstream from the Aratiatia Dam when the dam’s floodgates opened at midday on February 6, 2017.
Some of the group perched on a small rock were swept away in the rapidly flowing water.
De Jong tried to help a friend but was swept downstream and drowned.
Her body was later recovered. The rapids are a popular tourist attraction.
The dam gates, operated by Mercury, are opened four times a day and water flows down the rapids for 10-15 minutes.
The group were swimming in what the Coroner described as idyllic still waters around 11am and evidence shows a group of five of them were taking a selfie using a Go-Pro stick.
But once the dam was opened the calm swimming hole turned to turbulent surf.
In his findings released recently, Bain focused on the following fundamental question:
‘‘How was it that a group of young adults, intelligent, law abiding and very successful in their own lives, were able to access the swimming area, in part read some signs but certainly hear the sirens and still swim in the area at the more dangerous time?’’.
Bain said the group was not aware of the dangers posed by the Aratiatia Rapids.
‘‘The evidence is clear that the group had not experienced anything like this before and had no understanding at all, despite signage and warning signs, as to what they were about to be subject to and the turbulence, force of the water and the washing machine effect on your body if you were in it,’’ Bain said.
‘‘Many heard the [warning] sirens but again, did not understand or fully understand what was about to occur and when.’’
Bain said there should have been signage advising the group of the dangerous rapids at the point they entered an unofficial, but well-worn walking track to the swimming hole.
However, the signage had been vandalised.
Signage in other places on the track warned of the rapids’ danger, but Bain questioned whether the signs were effective.
‘‘Was the signage explicit enough at the time? Signage drew attention to a ‘‘risk of drowning’’, ‘‘swimming not advised’’, ‘‘water level may rise’’, ‘‘strong currents and undertow’’,’’ Bain said.
Since the incident, Mercury met with the Department of Conservation and installed additional signage and a wooden barrier on the unofficial track with the aim of preventing that track being used.
DOC also removed ropes from the steep terrain which assisted the group in reaching the pool.
A fence has been installed stopping access to the unofficial track to the swimming hole.
While some of the group were aware of the floodgates opening they didn’t know what this meant and had never seen it transpire.
As they had taken an unofficial track, the group had circumnavigated the signage.
A sign on the unofficial track was stolen two weeks before.
‘‘New signage emphasises the risk of drowning and that the water will rise rapidly and that it is a prohibited zone.’’
Mercury, which operates the dam, has a six-monthly hazard review for the site, Bain said.
‘‘The warning sirens are regularly checked.
Waikato Regional Council considered a bylaw to regulate swimming in the area but independent legal advice stated it wasn’t appropriate.
Freedom of entry and access to reserves, such as the land surrounding the Aratiatia Rapids, is granted to the public under the Reserves Act 1977.
However, this
could
be changed, Bain said.
‘‘The Court strongly recommends .... that consideration be given to whether legislative change is necessary to enable a total prohibition of swimming in the area,’’ he said.
‘‘It is clear to the court, that a tragedy similar to this is likely to occur in the future despite the presence of signs and sirens and other measures.
‘‘If the group that were caught on this occasion were not able to sense the imminent danger with all that was then in place then it is clearly possible that this could occur again, especially as it is a tourist area.’’
He urged Waikato Regional Council, DOC and Mercury to meet urgently to discuss how a ban on swimming in the area while tourist spills continue to occur.
Department of Conservation North Island Director of Operations Allan Munn said the department was set to meet with Mercury and Waikato Regional Council in the next few weeks to discuss what further steps could be undertaken.