Flooding impossible to fix, so put up with - council report

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

From reporter Tina Law:

Flooding on Christchurch properties and streets is impossible to fix and residents will just have to accept it, a council report warns.

The Christchurch City Council has spent $300 million reducing the flood risk across the city since 2010, mostly around the Flockton St area and along the Heathcote River, where water was regularly seeping into people’s homes.

There are still several low-lying areas across the city, mostly along river catchments, where properties and roads flood regularly, but a council report says it is not possible to resolve all aspects of flood risk, particularly in older areas.

“There will always be a bigger flood event, or areas that cannot be practicably remedied.”

The council decided last week to develop a prioritised list of works, but staff warned the scale of the task limited the council’s ability to address all areas at pace and significant time would be needed to complete all of the work.

The report said the council and community may have to accept that some surface water ponding and private property flooding could not be addressed through physical work, particularly as the climate changed.

Read the full story here.