Glen residents worried by growing pile of mud
A resident living north of Nelson is concerned about future flooding on properties caused by the Nelson City Council dumping mud and silt from slips near their homes.
Mai Lunn, who lives on Seafield Tce in Glenduan, said the council had been dumping material from slips on to Glenduan Reserve, in similar scenes to the dump sites near Miyazu Japanese Gardens in Nelson and Saxton Field in Stoke.
Lunn was concerned that the added material had raised the height of the reserve, and she was worried that this could stop water from draining into the area.
During the extreme flooding the area had experienced, the reserve had absorbed the worst of it, she said, saving the 17-odd properties opposite the reserve.
Lunn, who has lived in Glenduan for around 13 years, said the area was essentially a large floodplain, with water moving down the hills on to the properties along Seafield Tce.
During the floods, her property was 90% underwater, she said. The ‘‘saving grace’’ was the Glenduan Reserve.
The water had just reached her garage when it started flowing over the road and into the low-lying park, Lunn said. The reserve had played a ‘‘vital part’’ in holding a lot of water during the event.
Now she was concerned that the reserve could no longer perform this function, after the mud from the slips had been piled there.
With more predicted bad weather on the horizon, Lunn was worried about locals’ properties.
‘‘Where do they think that water will go?
‘‘I don’t think any thought has really gone into this and how it will affect Seafield Tce,’’ she said.
Nelson City Council group manager infrastructure Alec Louverdis said the extreme weather had caused ‘‘hundreds’’ of slips across Nelson.
To assist people clearing soil and other non-hazardous debris from their properties, Civil Defence had authorised several sites across the region to be used to stockpile the material.
These sites were located near Miyazu Gardens, and others were at Saxton Field and Glenduan Reserve.
Louverdis said Glenduan Reserve had been chosen for its accessibility for people in the area.
Some of the removed material would be used to improve the reserve’s soil quality and drainage, he said. There was currently a 1m limit on the height of the stockpile, but this was temporary, he added.
Once the stockpile was removed, the reserve would return to its usual height, Louverdis said.
As the reserve was already the highest point in the area, the soil moved there would not contribute to any flooding if the weather worsened, he said.
The dump site near Miyazu Gardens had been chosen because its accessibility to Atawhai, which had experienced a number of slips.
Some of the organic material currently at the Miyazu site will be reused to help shape the area.
Louverdis said no hazardous or commercial waste could be left at any of the dump sites, and any excess material would be removed from the sites once there was no longer a need for them.
The cleanfill site at Saxton was now scheduled to close on Saturday, September 10.
‘‘Where do [the council] think that water will go? I don’t think any thought has really gone into this.’’
Mai Lunn, Glenduan resident