Waimakariri residents want action on flooding issues

Major rainfall events are causing some headaches for residents of Browns and North Eyre Roads at Swannanoa, near Rangiora. Photo / Mark Beckett

Rural Waimakariri residents want action to resolve ongoing flooding issues.

Swannanoa resident Mark Beckett said his neighbours in Browns Rd had been "fighting with the council" for several years over flooding which he believed was due to an "illegal diversion of a natural watercourse".

"This diversion is resulting in water flowing down North Eyre Rd and is affecting residents at 611 and 621 North Eyre Rd.

"Unfortunately there has been little or no maintenance of the flow paths and there seems to be no design code for entranceways that cross natural water flow paths, which is adding to or in some cases causing these issues.

"It's not fair to the affected property owners and while the council might like to blame global warming, locals with a history here will tell you of high water flows as far back as 1945."

Waimakariri District Council utilities and roading manager Gerard Cleary said the area in question experienced flooding issues during large rainfall events.

"The waterways through the Browns Road and North Eyre Road area are naturally occurring undercurrent channels that can flow for extended periods of time following large rainfall events.

"There have been flooding issues reported in these areas in the past as a result of large rainfall events, including the 2008 and 2014 events."

Beckett had lodged a service request and council staff would be following up, Cleary said.

The council had been aware of a waterway running through 843 North Eyre Rd, which had been diverted in the past.

He planned to follow up with Environment Canterbury to check if the works required consent.

As this area was outside of a drainage rating area, the landowner would be liable for any costs to maintain the diverted channel.

Cleary said while there had been major rain events in the past, climate change was having an impact.

"As with all flooding issues, climate change will have an impact over time. We have experienced extremely high rainfall over the past year, particularly during the month of July.

"Rainfall records do show significant periods of high rainfall have become regular during the past 10 years compared to the preceding decade.

"It is anticipated that climate change will have an increasing impact in the future."