All too familiar as Aubrey Rd property floods again
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(File photo from July)
It was with a horrible sense of familiarity that Lou Harper watched floodwater rise around her Aubrey Road home on Saturday.
Two councils are now investigating what went wrong and what can be done to prevent yet another repeat performance.
Ms Harper is still living in a rental next door while she waits for builders to complete repairs after the last time it flooded in July.
Over the long weekend, the Wānaka local again watched rising water with rising panic, but this time, thankfully, it stopped short of entering her home, thanks in part to quick work by volunteer firefighters and council contractors.
A shift manager with Fire and Emergency New Zealand says it sent a crew to Aubrey Road on Saturday a little after 1.20pm to deal with floodwaters.
He says firefighters used a specialist pump to shift water "for a good couple of hours".
Ms Harper says she thinks the unexpected cold snap delivering "heaps of snow" alongside the rain "saved us from another flood for sure". Also helpful, a whole lot of extra work digging additional drains since the July down pour.
No one from the Queenstown Lakes District Council was available to speak to Crux over Labour Weekend, however a spokesperson has provided an update this week on the incident.
It was Ms Harper's early understanding the floodwater at her property over the long weekend started as run off from some sort of water storage on public land up the hill behind her place.
The council spokesperson says, "To the best of our knowledge this flooding was caused by natural rainfall and there were no issues with QLDC infrastructure located on council-owned land by Sticky Forest above Northlake and Kirimoko. This includes two water storage reservoirs and a treatment plant."
The spokesperson confirms contractors Veolia and Downer were at the scene assisting firefighters in supporting affected properties.
"In light of this flooding event and recent heavy rainfall, we are taking the precaution of reviewing stormwater management within the compound where council infrastructure is located, noting that it sits within a large catchment area for which the natural overland flow path is directly south to Aubrey Road."
A fast-moving, dirty river of water enters the Aubrey Road property of Lou Harper on Monday, July 1, 2024 (Image: Supplied).
Ms Harper says staff from the Otago Regional Council also became involved on Saturday.
Otago Regional Council compliance manager Carlo Bell has confirmed to Crux council staff responded to a call relating to the incident over the long weekend.
But that is about all he could tell us.
"The matter is under active investigation and no further details can be provided at this time."
In July, the failure of a stormwater pond at the Pembroke Heights development linked to Benchmark Construction led to the flooding of Ms Harper's home and several neighbouring properties.
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