Flood washes out road and sewer

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 603, 12 September 1995, Page 1

Flood washes out road and sewer

A, council contracting digger (pictured) works to re-divert the Mangateitei Stream last Thursday morning following the overnight storm which washed away a six metre-wide swathe of road leading to the rear of the Wanganui Motors workshop in Clyde Street. Also lost was the sewer which services Turoa Village. A log which had lain in the river for some time upstream was moved down to the bend by the floodwaters. The log then forced the flow of water towards the right bank, sluicing away the roadway. Alan Nation, whose property was threatened by the flood, said he had approached the council several times earlier, to warn them that scouring had started to happen on the bank. Area engineer south Don Sattler confirmed that the council was aware of the potential problem prior to the flood but that, although they had applied to the Manawatu Wanganui Regional Council two months ago, they were advised not to apply for a resource consent until November. He said the fish and game councils would object to any river control work being done inside the trout spawning season. However, he said the council was allowed to carry out emergency work to reinstate the sewer line and roadway. The council also carried out emergency work on the Mangawhero River bank near the swing bridge, near the Mangawhero Extension, where severe scouring had occurred which could have led to a subsequent flood of the area. He said the river banks of both the Mangawhero and Mangateitei had been severely scoured out in several places during the

Wednesday night flood, indicating the massive amounts of water that had fallen. Mr Sattler said under its emergency powers, the council was only able to carry out work to reinstate flood damage. It could not do the work before the damage was done without a re-

source consent. "If the sewer line or property had not been affected we would not be allowed to do anything," he said. The old catchment boards used to maintain rivers and streams and their banks, or provide subsidies to councils and property owners to maintain them. But now,

regional councils have stopped all subsidies. "They now take the attitude that 'it's your property, if you don't want to loose any more of it, you fix it," he explained. Added to that, a person actually has to apply for a resource consent to do so, and pay the relevant fees and hearing

costs. Mr Sattler said district councils are bound by the same process and that they will now have to apply for a resource consent for the work they have carried out and they must prove that they only did work that was required as a result of the emergency.