Extensive willow clearing carried out recently in the Twizel River near the township and State Highway 8 will have a positive spin-off for locals and holidaymakers wanting a dip over summer.

Environment Canterbury, with the backing of the Twizel Community Board and the local river rating group, has removed the mostly young willows from more than a kilometre of riverbank upstream from the State Highway bridge.

Bruce Scarlett, Environment Canterbury’s Timaru-based rivers engineering officer, says taking out the willows was necessary to reduce the flooding risk. Most of the trees were about two to three metres high, although a few large willows were also removed. The work took about a week to complete.

“Our priority was to improve water flow during floods but in the process many of the swimming holes in the river have also been cleared of tree branches and roots,” Mr Scarlett said.

For more information contact: Bruce Scarlett, Environment Canterbury Senior Engineering Officer, 03 687 7842 or 027 223 4030.