Flood fund is not enough - resident

Leigh Pettigrew near areas of Mount Maunganui that frequently go underwater in storms. Photo / File

A multimillion-dollar fighting fund for the day when Tauranga was again deluged by flood waters has drawn criticism that the council could do little to help.

Mount Maunganui resident Leigh Pettigrew spoke out yesterday on the $2 million being put aside every year for the next 10 years to support the community after intense storms.

The stormwater reaction reserve was set up following the council's controversial decision to change the criteria for prioritising future stormwater projects to only those that addressed people's safety, rather than protecting properties from flooding.

Mr Pettigrew submitted that the council could do little to help residents once a flood had occurred. "We need suction vacuums, large fans, insurance assessors, plasterers, painters, builders, etc."

He urged the council to put more effort into the front end so that staff visited properties affected by frequent flooding and offered practical advice to prevent future floods.

Mr Pettigrew also wanted the council to add health to the safety criteria that decided which properties qualified for flood prevention schemes. Projects should be prioritised on health and safety, so it took account of the mental health of people whose properties frequently flooded.

"Priority should be given to high density areas, where it dosen't just pose a risk to safety," the Grace Ave resident said.

"These people's health has been affected in the past and will continue to be affected," he said about the plight of residents living in flood-prone areas of Tauranga, including his neighbourhood.

Mr Pettigrew called for funding policy to be fine-tuned, saying the council had spent $1.6 million on computer modelling to work out where flooding occurred most frequently, only to abandon this approach in favour of safety.

"Health matters as much as safety," he told yesterday's council meeting hearing submissions on the reaction fund's policy.

He questioned the impact on future flooding from the council continuing to allow intensification. Raising building heights 300mm meant people would still get sewage floating past their front doors.

Another submitter Peter Scott said the council should use the fund to resolve the dispute with the owner of the land that collapsed on to Princess Rd, Bellevue, during the April 2013 storm.

"The slip has been a source of frustration for the residents of Westwood St for 31 months," he said.

Situations Covered by the Flood Response Reserve Fund

* Emergency response and recovery
* Clean-up costs
* Potential property purchases
* Reducing the risk of flooding
* Convey stormwater away from risk areas
* Mitigation where co-funding arrangements proposed