Weather costs golf club $400k
The Whangamata¯ Golf Club lost about $400,000 as a result of the devastating weather events of last year, and course managers are now worried silt build-up and mangroves will make future flooding events worse.
The course lies adjacent to the Moana Anu Anu estuary, and Whangamata¯ Golf Club chairman Andy Clements said silt and mangroves were acting like a “plug in the sink”.
He said those dual factors had affected water movement throughout the course, particularly in the past five to 10 years.
The club was forced to close for 105 days as a result of the devastating effects of Cyclone Gabrielle and other weather events that left the course saturated for months.
The club’s 875 members raised $165,000 last year and were hoping to raise another $100,000 this year to keep on top of the maintenance of pipework, drains and creeks to help water flow away from the course.
Clements said the club had been reaching out to the Waikato Regional Council for years with concerns about environmental impacts from the estuary and nearby public and private works, but to no avail.
A spokesperson for the council said it was contacted on March 18 by a member of the Whangamata¯ Golf Club, and a member of the council’s river management team responded on the same day with options for a way forward.
“Part of our advice was that, given the proposed work and working within the Coastal Marine Area, the most likely course was a resource consent application.
“Advice was provided on the process. We welcome further queries and are available to help with providing guidance through the process.
“By way of background, the golf course is in a floodplain and subject to flooding during weather events, of which Whangamata¯ and the Coromandel have had many over the last five to 10 years.”
Clements said club members were “not water experts”, but the potential for flooding was getting worse.
Meanwhile, the club was spending $70,000 to clear creeks, drains and pipeworks on the course.
“It’s stuff we have to maintain,” Clements said, adding the club ran a raffle to help cover the costs.