Waipā District Council manages dam, ponds that burst, flooding Hamilton’s Glenview

Flooding in Glenview, Exeter Street has been particularly effected. Water has made the road impassable and some properties have been impacted. Photo / Waikato Police

Yesterday’s heavy downpour has caused stormwater ponds on the outskirts of Hamilton to fail, sending floodwaters down city streets in Glenview.

The ponds and dam are privately owned, but managed by Waipā District Council. They are used to hold stormwater and protect downstream areas from flooding.

Council water services manager Martin Mould said the dam or ponds probably failed during the night or early morning after a night of heavy rain. He could not estimate how much water had escaped but said it was the first time the infrastructure had failed.

Experts were on site investigating, he said in a statement.

The Waipā District Council was advised of the failure about 9am today.

Hamilton City Council staff and contractors were at work in the impacted streets, dealing with the flooding.

Martin said he did not have any further detail yet on what had happened or why but confirmed in the statement that last night’s heavy rain last night was “an inevitable factor”.

“We’ll get to the bottom of it very quickly but right now our focus is limiting any further flooding and making it safe.”