Otumoetai family stranded after losing home to floods

Jessica Brown, 5, David Brown, Josh Brown, 10, Fiona Brown, and Chelsea Brown, almost 9. Photo/George Novak

An Otumoetai family of five have been living in a motel for almost a month after stormwater flooded their home.

On May 27 the Brown family woke about 6.15am to find 60cm of dirty water throughout the bottom floor of their Sherwood St home.

Josh Brown, 10, was asleep in his room downstairs. He woke to a neighbour banging on the front door and his dad sloshing through the water to piggyback him upstairs.

"The water was up to my dad's knees," Josh said.

Dad David Brown said that was the scariest part - walking downstairs and seeing the water around his son's bed.

Josh lost most of his special belongings, including his new guitar and his bed. His fidget spinner was saved, though.

The water damaged a lounge, laundry, bathroom, kitchen and garage as well as Josh's bedroom, mum Fiona Brown said.

Most of the contents of those rooms had to go straight into the skip. A car had to go.

The family blamed the flood on overflowing stormwater drains in nearby Mitchell Park, which borders their property.

It was the second flood since the Browns moved there in April 2012. They understand there was at least one other flood before that.

Each flood happened in heavy rain.

Last time they cleaned up and tried to put it behind them. But this time they had had enough, Mrs Brown said. It could happen again.

Every time heavy rain was forecast, her anxiety levels rose, she said.

Tauranga City Council staff had been good when it first happened, helping them find the motel, the cost of which would come out of their insurance settlement.

As the investigation continued, however, the council had been frustratingly non-committal about what they would do to fix the problem, she said.

"Everyone is talking in code. It's a month on and I haven't been told of any outcome."

The council's drainage services team leader, Wally Potts, said the council was still talking to residents and looking at options.

"We haven't yet found a solution that will sufficiently reduce the water levels during heavy rain events," he said.

The council has had two applications for the area to be considered under the council's Reactive Reserve Fund, Mr Potts said.

The fund can help with flood clean-up costs, mitigation work and property purchases, among other things.

One of those applications was from the Brown family, who were looking at three months in the motel before repair work made their house liveable again.

Mrs Brown said her ideal outcome was the council buying their home for a fair price so they could move on in a different house, ideally in Otumoetai.

Her message to the council was simple: "Just fix it or buy my house."