This project involves the replacement of a piece of critical infrastructure, currently at the end of its life, which is used to capture river weed cut in the Halswell River/Huritini.
Weed is cut from the riverbed in order to manage water levels (both ground and surface water) in the Halswell/Huritini catchment.
Cut river weed must be prevented from entering Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere, which is a nationally important wetland of huge cultural importance.
If weed were to enter the lake, it would severely degrade water quality through the release of stored nutrients during decomposition.
