Since last Tuesday night we have had 276 mls of Rain. That's almost the length of an old school ruler. ( 12 inches - I don't visualise mls as easily as inches ) That is way more than we needed. 
When we have heavy rain we have drains and creeks that need constant monitoring. If they get blocked then flooding happens. Behind and above our property is the Te Puna Quarry Park.( a large catchment area ) It has a large gravel carpark which drains down into and through our property.
This shows the water entering our place yesterday afternoon. The top photo shows the large vertical pipe that redirects the water underground through our place. There is a metal grill ( top rail just visible ) to stop debris going into the pipe If debris blocks this grill, as it frequently does, flooding then starts across our orchard. The debris which is usually long strips of gum tree bark, big rocks, rubbish, old footwear etc. has to be manually picked out of the top side of this grill which then can be lifted up to let small stuff wash through.To do this one must stand legs apart on the concrete side facing the big pipe and bend forward to pluck stuff out meanwhile the water rushes by sometimes filling ones gumboots. Or if it is already flooded one has to plunge ones hand down into the unknown to get stuff out.( not good if there is glass hidden in the rubbish )
Normally this is not a huge job and we are both adept at clearing it . When the velocity of water increases as it has these last few days it becomes quite a scary task. ( don't slip and don't have anything loose in your pockets- phone or glasses etc that could fall out; you'll never see it again )
The other night it blocked and overflowed towards this kiwifruit block leaving a trail of rocks ,grit and bark ( mainly wrapped around the posts here ) This grass gets mowed so before that can happen all the rocks have to be cleared or the mower would be blunt or broken very quickly.
The water runs underground for about 50 metres and reemerges at our front creek, runs under the driveway and exits our property here.
If we are way over night we always need to nominate someone to check for us if there is heavy rain to do the unblocking .
We are now hoping for some sun, to dry everything up and let us get back to orchard work.
Other folk in Auckland and Coromandel had lasting flood damage so we feel for them.
( Up side ....I got some more sewing time )
1 comment:
It seems like there's always too much water, resulting in floods, or too little, resulting in drought! California has had several years of drought and water rationing and now, finally, we're hearing from California Girl ---"rain again!" Which is a good thing for a heavily agricultural state. Sounds like you have a handle on it and actions to take to avoid disaster as long as you're vigilant. Hope you get that sunshine!
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