Wainoni flood plan draws controversy

Ninety-year-old Dorothy Grieve wasn't keen on selling her home for a city council flood storage scheme.

There's been mixed feedback on a proposed new water storage scheme for Aranui and Wainoni.

An area north-west of the Pages Rd and Anzac Dr intersection has been proposed as the site for new flood storage ponds.

Of the 14 submissions received during a two-week public consultation, almost half had concerns and two did not support the plan.

The concerns related to the link into Farnborough Reserve, maintenance of the area when built, the possibility of changing the footpath on Pages Rd to a shared path to connect with Anzac Dr, the potential for midges and mosquitos, and the impact on existing homeowners.

There are 13 houses in the scheme area, five of which the city council owned before the earthquakes.

The other seven houses are currently occupied.

Keith Davison, city council land drainage manager, said there were three submissions from landowners, all of which supported the proposal.

He said the city council would need to pass a resolution that "supports the preferred construction options" before it could negotiate with landowners.

"If that occurs, we will enter into negotiations with property owners and only then will we be able to understand fully their views on selling."

Property owner Dorothy Grieve, who is 90-years-old, has said she is not keen on selling her home as she didn't know where she would go if she had to sell.

Ground levels in some parts have dropped by up to a metre in the Knight's Drain catchment zone, which covers parts of Aranui and Wainoni, putting houses at greater flood risk due to earthquake-related land damage.