Te Henui Stream News Today

Less than 24 hours after finding out their mother had terminal cancer, Angela Kearvell and Francis Smith were watching floodwaters rise, preparing to evacuate their coastal Taranaki home.

Days of heavy rain has caused a number of sewage overflows around the New Plymouth District, including at the city's iconic Pukekura Park.

The Waiwhakaiho River, near New Plymouth, has safe swimming areas in the middle sections of the river. A Taranaki Regional Council committee member has called for more warning signs near bathing areas to discourage feeding wild birds after freshwater samples showed high bacteria levels from avian droppings. Wild ducks, pukeko and seagulls continue to befoul river mouths near popular bathing spots in New Plymouth, causing high levels of E.coli bacteria, a Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) annual ...