An experienced contractor is removing obstacles and restoring the river in phases.
So, they arrived at our section of the river.
Trees and developments have narrowed the river over the years, with the effect that floods resulted and creating many damages over the course of the river from the mountains to the sea. The floods last winter season wrecked a school and some other entities. So, a contactor was appointed to remove the obstacles and also to widen the riverbanks in order to stop the flooding.
1 liter of water weighs 1 kilogram, and tons of water rush off the mountains in the river to the ocean. It is a huge task to restore the river flow and the restoration started a few months ago.
We heard the "clang, clang" sound of a machine down the road, and I went to have a look.
A big truck arrived and reversed back into the open space.
The trucks ran in rotation, as when the one was loaded and pulled out, another empty truck pulled in.
A zoom towards the railway bridge can show you how the entire riverbank was demolished, and the blue water spot shows a gentle narrow river stream. All of the loose ground had to be trucked away.
Towards the other end, you can see that the river was only a small stream.
The chief site foreman below was watching the progress of the works :)
But then the first big rain of winter arrived.
Now look below at the river coming down at the other end. Compare this photo below with the one above the squirrel and you will see the drastic change.
And here's a look towards the railway bridge side.
A total change and the machines were working in the mud.
Like I said, tons of very fast flowing water come down from the mountains.
The great thing to see is that by removing the obstacles, the river flooding closer to the mountains was eliminated. We traveled up closer to the mountains to have a look, and the river was eased and contained. This post is getting a bit too long, and I will show you what it looked like closer to the mountain in another post. At this stage the river still did not have its full complement of water, as when the big storms arrive the amount of water flowing down is doubled. Then the river becomes a raging monster. It was a clever idea to start the restoration from the seaside up to the mountains, as now the river has an unobstructed flow higher up.
The contractor is doing an excellent job, and I was told by one of the foremen, that they will continue the restoration of the river all the way up towards the mountains in phases.
That's it for now and I hope that you like the story and the pictures.
Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon PoweshotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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