Christchurch Flood Taskforce Frequently asked questions

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1 Christchurch Flood Taskforce Frequently asked questions Friday 12 May 2014 What is the Mayoral Taskforce on Flooding? The Taskforce was set up by the Council on 29 April 2014 to find immediate shortterm practical solutions to the flooding experienced across the city. On Monday 12 May, the Mayor and Councillors met to discuss the mitigation options presented by the Taskforce. The Council is placing a high priority on this flooding work and plans to release the report to the community for consultation in the coming weeks. The Taskforce is made up of about 38 members and was asked to deliver the technical report on flooding mitigation in less than two weeks. What did the Taskforce do? Taskforce members focused on areas across Christchurch and Little River that have been most affected by flooding and are working on options to protect these homes in the short to medium-term. They are looking at ways to prevent water coming onto people s properties as well as what can be done to the houses themselves. This might mean dredging, diverting water and pumping, among other things. What solutions does the report recommend? Possible options include: Temporary pumping solution in Flockton. The repair of flap gates in the Avon and Heathcote rivers. The dredging of the Heathcote River and the removal of debris. Individual property level protections including house-raising and base waterproofing. Relocation solutions for the most vulnerable households. o Suitable rental accommodation o Financial support / community grant o Temporatry buyout (with the option of selling properties back to residents once a solution is found) o Temporary Village. Following community consultation about mitigation options, work will begin as soon as the most appropriate solutions are decided on. The detail of policy and financial issues will still have to be worked through for these options. How many homes are affected by this report? Based on information from recent flood events and community feedback, there were 994 households assessed as vulnerable to regular flooding in Christchurch, including Little River. Of those, 56 are considered the most vulnerable or level one as flood water entered the house at least twice. The next level were the 451 households that were flooded underneath their homes two or more times.

2 Where were the most vulnerable homes located? Of 56 homes that have flooded twice or more, 28 are in the Flockton area, one in the Heathcote Valley, 13 in the Woolston, Opawa and Lower Heathcote area, five in Little River, and nine in Lyttelton. Why do homes have to have been flooded twice? The March 2014 storm was a very extreme event and if we d just included that it would have seriously skewed the results. The Taskforce was given the brief to identify the most vulnerable people and these are the people who have been flooded twice. How much will these solutions cost? Protecting the 56 most vulnerable homes is estimated to cost $13.7 million. Adding in the 451 homes experiencing regular flooding below floor level brings the total estimated cost to $20.1 million. Once a decision has been made about mitigation options for my area when will work start? Following community consultation about mitigation options, work will begin as soon as the most appropriate solutions are decided on. Depending on the particular mitigation option selected for your area, some work may only take a few days or weeks to complete, other more detailed work may happen over a longer time frame. Residents will be informed of work and, where possible, disruption will be kept to a minimum. For the latest information on flood mitigation work, please visit Can the Council afford $20m? That s a question for the Council to decide on after reviewing the report and discussing it with the community. The Taskforce was asked to come up with the options and the potential costs and they ve done this. What can you say to residents facing a wet winter? Some actions have happened already, some things will be done by the end of this week, others by the end of the month. Taskforce engineers cleared debris from waterways and channels while out in the field. However, we do need to take the time to review the report and talk to the community to make sure we re doing the right things and we ve identified the most vulnerable homes. The Flockton pumping station is a potential quick win, but it comes at a pretty hefty price tag. We know people are desperate for solutions, but there needs to be wisdom in the spend. Will you be piloting some new solutions for homes? Some widely used solutions from the United Kingdom need to be tested to see if they are suitable for New Zealand and would be appropriate here. We ve got a number of pilot studies ready to go over the next three months including tanking the house

3 (waterproofing it just above the level of frequent flooding). Non-return pipes on sewer connections and flood gates for garage doors are other options for homes. Are you also looking at long-term solutions? We are looking at options for large-scale projects to alleviate flooding in the longterm, but they are likely to take several years to develop and put in place. How do I find out what you re going to be doing to my property/home? The Flood Taskforce report was discussed by the Mayor and Councillors at an Extraordinary Council meeting on May 12. It will be released to the community for further consultation. The report is available at Why has it taken you so long to do anything? The Council has been working on flooding for some time. The earthquakes made some land in the city slump by up to half a metre and this has made a large area around Flockton Street much more likely to flood. The rainfall this year has been unusually heavy and frequent. We last saw clusters of major storms in the 1970s, then in 1986, and this year s events were the worst since The Mayoral Taskforce on Flooding, set up on 28 April, has fast-tracked work on finding short-term solutions for flood prone areas of Christchurch and Little River. The report was presented to an Extraordinary Council meeting on 12 May Are the solutions the Taskforce comes up with going to cost me anything? Possible options to mitigate flooding from the Taskforce will not directly cost you anything as an individual. However, any costs the Council has to pay for engineering or other solutions may end up being paid for over many years through rates. What is the Council doing about my rates? The Council is looking at rates reductions for some flood affected residents. If you are one of those residents, the Council will be in touch with you in coming weeks to let you know what they have decided to do. What s going to happen to my place in the next flood? We are working to make sure your place won t be flooded next time. The Taskforce is looking at many different ways to protect your property from floods. If we cannot stop the water flooding your property there may be other ways we can stop the water coming over your floor boards, for example, we might be able to wrap (tank) the house so water can t get in, or raise it higher off the ground.

4 When is the Council going to do something at my place? The Flood Taskforce report went to the Council on May 12, it will be up to the Council to decide what to do next to stop your place flooding, after consultation with the community. Central Government may also get involved in these decisions. How long will it take to fix the flooding at my place? We won t know until we have looked at all the factors that caused the flooding. After the Council has consulted with the community and decided which options it wants to use to stop the flooding, we will be able to tell you with more certainty how long it will take. Have flooding problems in residential areas been taken into account in the revaluation? The 2013 Rating Values take into account known flood-prone areas. These issues are also reflected in recent market sales, so do have an impact on values. The District Plan Review currently underway will contain more extensive and updated information on flood management areas, but as it was not completed at the time of the revaluation, it was not part of this assessment. Note: flood management areas incorporate areas that might be affected by a one-in-200 year flood event. I want more information who do I call? Please call the Customer Call Centre on (03) or Plase make sure you let them know the nature of your request so they can put you through to the approproate Council staff member. Is the land that has been flooded contaminated and what does this mean for my family? We assume the flood waters contain sewage and other unhealthy material that may still be present in soil once flood wates retreat. Please keep your children and animals away from the water. It is not safe to play in or wade in so the Council advises residents to avoid the water where possible or make sure you wash your hands and remove and wash any clothing that gets wet. The Council has done some work on testing soil for contaminants and will be further looking into this. What should I do about mould/ponding? Please contact the Customer Call Centre on (03) or Is this data accurate? We ve only had a couple of weeks to pull together the report so we acknowledge there s a real need to get out into the community to check and test the information we ve gathered and some of the assumptions we ve made.

5 What were the main concerns of the residents the Taskforce spoke with? Residents are concerned about health and wellbeing issues. They reported increased respiratory issues, behaviour issues shown by children in schools, concern about mould under the house, financial impact, worry and stress around the equity in their home and the risk of future floods. What temporary relocation options are you looking at for some of the most vulnerable residents? We are looking at four options: Suitable rental accommodation, Financial support/community grants, A temporary buy-out for a couple of years until long term flood protection measures are in place, Temporary village options.