Feedback from Workshop Eight - Thursday 27th February 2014

Feedback from Workshop Eight - Thursday 27th February 2014: Facilitator Peter Hughes

Brian – from Marine Ave.  Bought in 1982 knowing about the risk of surface flooding, which would
come up from the creek.  Up until 2009 the creek was just an open drain but it was covered over for security reasons.  It wasn’t until a child drowned in an open drain in Auckland that council decided to do something about this one.  Over the last 10 years the flooding has come off the road.  Clearly the storage system doesn’t cope.  Council responsiveness has recently been very, very good, but before then Brian got ‘dumb’ replies from Council.  In 2013 there was flooding through the house (about 1m high).  It hasn’t done that in 30 years.  So Brian ‘bowled’ the house and started again and in doing so he built up 1.6m to design for a 1 in 50 year event.  Brian said that Waihi Beach has never been ‘hydrallically neutral’.  Driveways being concreted has contributed to the problem of flood waters coming off the road.  Brian hasn’t experienced insurance issues but believes the speed of runoff needs to be addressed and catch pits need to be cleaned out more regularly.

Raewyn – from Savage Ave.  Raewyn had prepared some notes setting out what she wanted to say, and
this is a summary of those notes.  Raewyn says rain water from Savage Ave, Brighton carpark and Ocean View Road all flows toward the pipe and drain by the reserve playground (beside Norfolk Pine).  This pipe is too small.  Perhaps compromised by Norfolk pine roots?  Outlet pipe over in the creek is often blocked with sand.  The inlet pipe gets full really quickly and then water from the road, carpark and reserve has nowhere to go so it builds up and overflows back onto the road and around the houses on Savage Ave.  Raewyn has talked to council on several occasions but has only seen the drain be cleaned once in the last 6 years.  There is a lack of communication and follow up by staff. A bigger pipe through to the outlet could direct the water in the direction it should be going. Raewyn said she is proactive in trying to clean the pipes and remove Kaikuia grass, but this is
not her job.  She doesn’t think kerb and channel is the answer.  The water under Raewyn’s house makes the lino damp, but she’s never experienced water in the house.  Raewyn’s never had to make an insurance claim.  She also spoke about a recent experience with a contractor digging a ‘useless’ channel.  In Raewyn’s words ‘you don’t use a teaspoon to clean up a tablespoon’s mess.’Do it once, and do it properly!  Raewyn also said that she built 6 years ago and has had to retain stormwater on site but because the culvert is so small water cannot escape from her property.

Grey – asked a question regarding the role of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council in this.

Matt (Finance Manager, WBOPDC) – answered by saying that the role of the regional council is to manage waterways, stopbanks and the coastal marine area (below mean high water springs).

Derek – asked everyone to be mindful that the creeks (2 and 3 Mile) were both man-made.

Brian – acknowledged that we have been experiencing heavier rainfall in recent times and that Waihi Beach was built on a ‘swamp’.

Colleen – Colleen’s issue is the drains not being cleared and culverts not being maintained.  She said that there are more properties but no upgrading of stormwater infrastructure to cope.

John – spoke about 2 Mile Creek and the scheme that Tonkin & Taylor have come up with for training the banks of the creek.  All subdivisions are now causing more water to come down 2 Mile Creek.  In John’s view the T&T plan is overengineered and too wide, noting that the creek is privately owned.  He’s not happy with what they’re proposing to do to his property.  John thinks what’s needed is a holding lake at Broadlands to control the flow of water down 2 Mile Creek.

Ross Goudie – in response to a question confirmed that Broadlands block does function has a ponding area and has been more or less the same size and shape for about 50 years. 

Andy – a Shaw Road property owner for the last 9 years.  He believes that maintenance is a big thing.  He spoke about the Darley Streetculvert being almost full after king tides.

John then recounted water being manually pumped out of the Maranui catchment following the April 2013 event into the 2 Mile Creek area.  He reiterated again the need for a dam and holding pond at Broadlands but noted that ‘it all costs money’.

Jim – following on from John’s comment above, said that surely the water could be released electronically to time with low tide.

Colleen – said she would prefer big money to be spent up front, rather than taking a piecemeal approach.

Linda – from The Terrace.  Bought in 1993 but have been coming to Waihi Beach since 1978.  Linda said she wrote to the Council in 2005 about flooding.  This is not a new subject by any means.  She acknowledged the support of Ross Goudie, as it wasn’t until she had an onsite meeting with him that people could understand what had been going on.  Linda spoke about the consultation that had already taken place.  She also mentioned that in the last 2 months some new pipes have been put in but they are already blocking.  She didn’t get what she thought she’d get.  Linda spoke about a meeting she attended in the carpark where a new grill had been put in.  She said that following heavy rain since the grill was put in the flooding had been the worst ever.  She sent pictures to the Council but had had no reply.  Whatever rain is coming it’s not being taken away by a big enough pipe.

Colleen – then spoke about the fact that her property was now in a flood zone.  She expresses
frustration that she now has an ‘endorsement’ on her property, that’s its devalued and put up her rates when the Council created the flooding problem in the first place.

Chris – from Adela Stewart Drive East.  Is a relative ‘newbie’ and is not from then north end.  Chris suggested that there would likely be ecological issues as well (i.e. affects on beach quality in particular).

Raewyn – Said if you want to solve the problem then council has to take out a mortgage, get on and do it! 
We will all have a better asset at the end of it.  If you don’t like the rates impact then sell your property and live somewhere else.  Just stop bitching and get on and do it!

Workshop attendees were then asked to write down on Post-it notes what issues were created for the community/property owners when it flooded:

Pipes and Drains

• Need for holding 'tanks' to temporaily store excess floodwater
• Too much flow going into the Darley Creek outlet
• Culverts are too small
• No need to spend 'millions' as holding tanks need not be expensive
• Use the Broadlands Block to hold water back
• Pipes to small to take flow of water
• Total upgrade of stormwater system - Darley Creek
• Totally incompetent engineers
• Kerb and channelling upgrade
• Size of drainage pipes - not being enough and variable sizes
• Infrastructure not keeping up with the subdivisions created
• Stormwater upgrading not keeping pace with development.  Probably elsewhere as well as North Beach
• Self contain water
• Need holding dam/lake to store stormwater before sending down the drains to the sea in a controlled manner
• In Australia, outlet pipes have flexi fittings on the ends.  Water comes out and sand does not go in.  This is place at Mount Messenger NZ to take overflow water and not silt.

Money

• Insurance
• Insurance
• Targeted funding - those effected should pay
• Devaluation of property
• Rates are seriously unaffordable at the moment so 'expensive solutions' will create problems with depopulation
• What effect will this have on our rates, which are already very high,
• Increasing rates
• Money (rates) spent and inadequately
• Rates high enough already

Maintenance

• Lack of ongoing maintenance and clearing of drains and culverts
• Regular maintenance of stormwater system and monitoring
• Cleaning of drains and culverts
• No maintenance of drains
• No maintenance on existing floodways, culverts etc

Flooding

• Flooding
• Flooding

Lack of Action

• Repetitive meetings and nothing achieved
• To much talk and not enough action
• Meetings achieved nothing
• How many meetings do we have to attend to discuss the same problems and solutions

Planning and Rules

• Remember that Two Mile Creek between Edinburgh Street and Wilson Road is on private property and present design of proposed creeks bank protection will take up a lot of private property;
• Because of endorsements on titles devaluing properties, will our rates go down?
• Council need to do a job to cope - not a small patch job
• Expensive use of concrete in drives.  There is permeable concrete available now
• Development of new housing area with no (or not enough) provision for drainage and ponding.  I believe roofing area is taken into account - what about driveways and turn areas?
• Council experts don't seem to know anything
• House built in low lying area
• If properties are tagged saying floors of buildings have to be a certain height above Moturiki, what about the shade angles etc for these propertis if they have to be built higher.