Piako River

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Piako River
Piako river 1.JPG
Location
Country New Zealand
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • location Te Miro-Tahuroa Hills and Piarere
 • elevation350 m (1,150 ft)
Mouth  
 • location
 Firth of Thames
 • elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Length100 km (62 mi)
Basin size1,400 km2 (540 sq mi)

The Piako River is a lowland river system that drains into the Firth of Thames on the North Island of New Zealand. Together with the Waihou River, it is one of the two main rivers systems which drains the Hauraki Plains. It is the dominant river system in the Matamata-Piako District, and on its journey it passes through the towns of Morrinsville and Ngatea.

Contents

The Piako River has an annual mean flow of 17 cubic metres per second (600 cu ft/s) (at Paeroa-Tahuna Road), [1] with a total catchment area of approximately 1,440 square kilometres (560 sq mi). The river system is approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) long, aligned in a north-south direction and occupies much of the central and western Hauraki Plains (or more broadly, the Thames Valley), extending from Hinuera in the south before discharging into the Firth of Thames in the north, five kilometres west of Thames.

The Piako River has two major stems: the first, and main, stem drains the northern Te Miro-Tahuroa hills, and the Pakaroa Range. The dominant tributaries on the eastern slopes of these hills are the Piakonui and Piakoiti Streams. These streams, together with the smaller Toenepi Stream, converge just south of Kereone to become the Piako River. The western slopes are drained by the Waitakaruru Stream which joins the Piako River at Morrinsville. As the Piako River progresses north, it is fed by numerous small streams draining the eastern slopes of the Hangawera Hills.

The second stem is the Waitoa River, which starts near Piarere. The Waitoa River catchment drains the Hinuera Flats and broad southern Hauraki Plains, before converging with the Piako River in the large wetland known as the Kopuatai Peat Dome, northeast of Tahuna. The Upper Piako River catchment also drains the eastern aspects of the Hapuakohe Range through small tributaries.

The river system is highly modified by intensive dairy farming and associated industry. Given this, the Toenepi Stream - a small sub-catchment of the Piako River - has been extensively used to research the impact of intensive farming on water quality and develop improved farming practices. [2]

Drainage and flood protection

In 1906 work started on cutting the bends in the river below Kaihere Landing. [3] Since the 1930s, considerable flood protection measures have been undertaken on the Piako River and surrounding catchment, especially mainly north of Paeroa-Tahuna Road and the Kopuatai Peat Dome. The scheme includes river management works, river diversions and channel enlargement, ponding systems, floodway improvements, stopbanks, floodgates and pumps. [4] However, the river flooded again in 2017. [5] A 2018 plan provides for strengthened stopbanks and diversion ponds. [6]

The scheme works includes the following:

The scheme provides the following levels of service:

Piako River Bridge (Ngatea)

The original Piako River Bridge was built in Ngatea and opened in 1917. In the earliest days all transport or access to and from the land was either by sea, river or canal, but with the first roads being developed, it was essential that a bridge be built over the Piako River so it could become a main route between Auckland and Tauranga. Considerable work has gone into restoring the banks of the river, as in winter it is the direct cause of flooding through the low-lying Hauraki Plains.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waikato</span> Region of New Zealand

Waikato is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupō District, and parts of Rotorua District. It is governed by the Waikato Regional Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matamata-Piako District</span> Territorial authority in Waikato, New Zealand

Matamata-Piako District is a local government area in the Waikato region of New Zealand. It lies to the east of the city of Hamilton.

Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of approximately 7,000 in the 2013 Census. The town is located at the northern base of the Pakaroa Range, and on the south-western fringe of the Hauraki Plains. Morrinsville is around 33 kilometres east of Hamilton and 22 kilometres west of Te Aroha. The town is bordered by the Piako River to the east and the Waitakaruru Stream to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hauraki Gulf</span> Gulf in New Zealand

The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2, and lies between, in anticlockwise order, the Auckland Region, the Hauraki Plains, the Coromandel Peninsula, and Great Barrier Island. Most of the gulf is part of the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waihou River</span> River in Waikato, New Zealand

The Waihou River is located in the northern North Island of New Zealand. Its former name, Thames River, was bestowed by Captain James Cook in November 1769, when he explored 14 mi (23 km) of the river from the mouth. An older Māori name was "Wai Kahou Rounga". A 1947 Geographic Board enquiry ruled that the official name would be Waihou.

The Thames Valley is a non-administrative region in the North Island of New Zealand. Broadly, it is the valley component of the Waihou River catchment. The lower part of the valley is more commonly known as the Hauraki Plains. Geographically the valley extends as far as the Hinuera Gap, although this is not often referred to as such. In geographical history of New Zealand, the Thames Valley was the path of the ancestral Waikato River when it discharged into the Firth of Thames over 20,000 years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ngatea</span> Place in Waikato region, New Zealand

Ngatea is a small town on the Hauraki Plains in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 18 kilometres southwest of Thames and 70 kilometres southeast of Auckland. Ngatea lies on the Piako River, eight kilometres south of its outflow into the Firth of Thames.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hauraki Plains</span> Region of New Zealand

The Hauraki Plains are a geographical feature and non-administrative area located in the northern North Island of New Zealand, at the lower (northern) end of the Thames Valley. They are located 75 kilometres south-east of Auckland, at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula and occupy the southern portion of a rift valley bounded on the north-west by the Hunua Ranges, to the east by the Coromandel and Kaimai ranges and the west by a series of undulating hills which separate the plains from the much larger plains of the Waikato River. Broadly, the northern and southern parts of the Hauraki Plains are administered by the Hauraki District and the Matamata-Piako District respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Valley Rugby Football Union</span>

The Thames Valley Rugby Football Union (TVRFU) is the governing body of rugby union in the region of Thames Valley in the North Island of New Zealand. Their senior representative team compete in the Heartland Championship. Thames Valley Rugby Football Union was founded in 1921 when it broke away from the now defunct South Auckland Rugby Union. The Thames Rugby Union, a sub-union that had remained affiliated with the Auckland Rugby Football Union, eventually joined the Thames Valley Union in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Branch</span>

The Thames Branch railway line connected Thames, New Zealand, with Hamilton and was originally part of the East Coast Main Trunk railway. Part of the line between Morrinsville and Waitoa remains open and is in use as the Waitoa Branch line, connecting to the Fonterra Dairy Factory at Waitoa.

The Waitakaruru River is a river of the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows initially north before turning northwest across the northwestern corner of the Hauraki Plains, reaching the southwestern corner of the Firth of Thames close to the settlement of Waitakaruru.

The Waitoa River is a major river of the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows initially northeast from its origins at Piarere, before veering north through the Hinuera Gap and across the Hinuera Plains to pass to the west of Matamata, Walton and Waharoa before running through the settlement of Waitoa and reaching the southern edge of the Hauraki Plains. It converges with the Piako River in the Kopuatai Peat Dome wetland, approximately 15 kilometres north of Morrinsville.

The Whangamarino River is a lowland river of the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island, draining the Whangamarino Wetland and associated farmland catchment. The river converges with the Waikato River just north of Meremere. The main tributary is the Maramarua River, which starts in the Hunua Ranges and forms the northern catchment of the Whangamarino River.

The Waikato and King Country regions of New Zealand are built upon a basement of greywacke rocks, which form many of the hills. Much of the land to the west of the Waikato River and in the King Country to the south has been covered by limestone and sandstone, forming bluffs and a karst landscape. The volcanic cones of Karioi and Pirongia dominate the landscape near Raglan and Kawhia Harbours. To the east, the land has been covered with ignimbrite deposits from the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Large amounts of pumice from the Taupo Volcanic Zone have been deposited in the Waikato Basin and Hauraki Plains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waitakaruru Stream</span> River in New Zealand

The Waitakaruru Stream is a major tributary of the Piako River, within the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It should not be confused with the similarly named Waitakaruru River, which is also in the Waikato Region.

Hapuakohe Range

Hapuakohe Range of hills is aligned north-south, between the Waikato River and the Hauraki Plains in the Waikato region of New Zealand. It is separated from the Taupiri Range by an air-gap at Mangawara, where the Waikato flowed about 20,000 years ago.

Kiwitahi is a rural community in the Matamata-Piako District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, located directly south of Morrinsville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motumaoho</span> Place in Waikato, New Zealand

Motumaoho is a small village in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, just to the west of the Pakaroa Range. It is on SH26, 25 km (16 mi) east of Hamilton and 7 km (4.3 mi) west of Morrinsville. The village is bordered by the Waitakaruru Stream to the east. Motumaoho can be translated as an intruding clump of trees.

Awaiti is a rural community in the Hauraki District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, west of Paeroa.

Kopuarahi is a rural settlement and farming community in the Hauraki District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island.

References

  1. ↑ "The Waikato Regional Flood Event of 9-20 July 1998". Massey.ac.nz. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  2. ↑ Wilcock, R.J.; Monaghan, R.M.; Quinn, J.M.; Campbell, A.M.; Thorrold, B.S.; Duncan, M.J.; McGowan, A.W.; Betteridge, K. (2006). "Land‐use impacts and water quality targets in the intensive dairying catchment of the Toenepi Stream, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 40 (1): 123–140. doi:10.1080/00288330.2006.9517407.
  3. ↑ "THE PIAKO SWAMP. OHINEMURI GAZETTE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 9 February 1906. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  4. ↑ Basheer, G. (2002). Piako River Scheme Asset Management Plan. Volume 1. Environment Waikato Internal Series 2002/08. Hamilton: Waikato Regional Council
  5. ↑ "Evacuations in Waikato after stopbank breaches". Radio New Zealand. 16 April 2017. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  6. ↑ "Technical Report 2018/06 Piako River scheme: Service level review" (PDF). Waikato Regional Council.

Coordinates: 37°12′S175°30′E / 37.200°S 175.500°E / -37.200; 175.500

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