The developers of a marina at Whangamata have got their numbers wrong. The marina is still being built and they have announced figures supplied and signed off by the Waikato Regional Council and the Thames District Coromandel District Council as mis-calculations.

A local real estate guide, the Coastal News, publishes a regular advertorial about the marina construction from the developers. On the 19 February 2009, they wrote that the compaction of fill on site was much lower that originally calculated.

Concern has to be what other calculations are also in error within this project and where has the fill gone?

The local district council informed Surfbreak of this on the 12 February. The Waikato Regional Council are not updating any of the stakeholders in the Whangamata area on what is happening at the marina construction site.

Construction of the basin is near completion though it has yet to be opened to the estuary. The marina’s entrance and the ‘drop structure’ has not been completed. The filling of the Whangamata saltmarsh, a wetland that purified natural storm water, has been filled in. A 1km long channel has yet to be constructed.

The creation of an artificial channel that needs to be constantly dredged to remain open (and the marina viable) is of concern to surfers. All sand removed will be placed on land over a 35 year period. All this activity is 1km from the Whangamata Bar, a sand bar that uses this area as part of its sand reservoir.