Flash flood
Residents of Roxburgh have been told the Central Otago town’s water supply will be out until at least tomorrow following a flash flood.
"The water has just washed off a whole hill." Roxburgh resident Colin Turner
Residents of Roxburgh have been told the Central Otago town’s water supply will be out until at least tomorrow following a flash flood.
The Roxburgh Area School and eight homes were flooded after 42.2 millimetres of rain fell in Roxburgh within a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon.
The flash flooding closed roads, leaving the small town isolated yesterday and residents cleaning up mud and silt.
Firefighters were kept busy as the town was drenched and pumps were needed to clear water from a rest home and school buildings, as well as homes.
The school suffered silt and water damage and a digger had been brought in to clear it, Central Otago mayor Tim Cadogan said. It remained closed yesterday.
Roxburgh resident Colin Turner said the mud was like ‘‘porridge’’ to clean up.
‘‘The water has just washed off a whole hill.’’
School principal Gary Pasco said mud and silt was ‘‘well over knee-deep’’ in some places through the school.
‘‘There is a huge amount and it is really hard to shovel too because it is like fixed cement when it is really wet.’’
‘‘We are fortunate the water didn’t come through the main part of the school. Our science labs are probably the worst affected. We had quite a bit of water through them, through the offices and labs. We have damage in the foyer area and a couple of the primary classrooms.’’
People had swept ‘‘like mad’’ on Sunday to keep water out of classrooms.
‘‘It is the mud and silt around the outside of the school that is a concern and the fact we have no water to do anything with.’’
The school was to decide last night how long it would be closed for, Pasco said.
Teviot Community Board chairman Raymond Gunn said the impact was ‘‘significant’’ on the town’s infrastructure.
A Central Otago District Council statement said the entire town was without water and wastewater yesterday.
‘‘Crews are on site beginning the repairs, however residents are advised to prepare to be without services until at least Wednesday.
‘‘There is 60 metres of water pipe to be replaced and sewerage pipe damage is not known as yet.’’
Cadogan said eight homes, which were evacuated as a precaution on Sunday evening, were also breached by floodwater.
Senior Sergeant Ian Kerrisk said the town was ‘‘cut off’’ yesterday as State Highway 8 remained closed between the Roxburgh hydro dam (nine kilometres to the north) and Millers Flat (to the south) because of the numerous slips.
Millers Flat, south of Roxburgh, was without power, water and communication.
A tanker was being sourced to bring water to the town.
Council staff were doorknocking elderly people’s flats and providing water to residents.
Water tankers arrived in Roxburgh yesterday morning with drinking water. Lake Roxburgh Village residents were asked to conserve water.
‘‘Portaloos have been sourced and 14 toilets will be in place from early [Monday] afternoon.
‘‘Until these are on site in Roxburgh residents are advised to set up their own system using a large bucket where necessary. Please do not flush your toilet.’’
Cadogan said the ‘‘big issue’’ for the town was its water supply. The main pipe had burst, ‘‘so the reservoir emptied in moments’’, and the transformer that fed the treatment station was ‘‘taken out’’.
‘‘Unfortunately we can’t advise Roxburgh residents just how long it’s going to be until we get water back on to them. But we do have tankers down here supplying drinking water.
‘‘Because there’s a power transformer there that’s out, we can’t send our guys in to look at our infrastructure problems until [lines company] Delta have got that site totally secure.’’
Power was also out to ‘‘a significant portion of the town’’, Cadogan said.
Line crews isolated the northern part of Roxburgh on Sunday ‘‘but could not carry out repairs’’ to restore power to 186 homes due to unsafe working conditions caused by the weather, an Aurora Energy spokesman said.
The Millers Flat area had 121 homes still without power on Monday ‘‘after it appears a vehicle has hit a power pole’’.