Flood damage repairs bill soars to near $1m
A storm that put Otago into a state of emergency has cost the Central Otago District Council nearly $1 million.
Heavy rain across the Otago region on July 21, 2017, was followed by a period of heavy snow in the Maniototo area. The combined effects of snow melt and heavy rain significantly damaged roads in the Maniototo, Manuherikia and Teviot Valley areas.
A state of emergency was declared in the whole region.
Central Otago District Council executive manager infrastructure services Julie Muir said at a council meeting on Wednesday the initial cost of responding to the event, and reinstatement of roads, was $434,000 between July and the end of September.
A further $91,000 in the second quarter was spent on roads and slopes, she said.
‘‘A lot was around reinstating seal . . . There were some significant mudslides – it was flowing mud that had to dry before they could get it moved. The thing that has been outstanding and the thing we didn’t appreciate was the damage to one of the bridges at St Bathans Loop Road and the money spent managing the damage, getting people in to do assessment of the repairs.’’
One abutment on the bridge, which was on the gravel-road section at the Maniototo end, was significantly cracked and movement was occurring because of the damage, she said. The cost to repair it was $400,000, she said.
‘‘It is quite a busy road and quite an important road. We have made an application to NZTA and indications are it is going to be looking at us favourably.’’
The council maintains a reserve account which accumulates to fund its share of the cost of emergencies on roads. The current balance of the reserve account is $367,302. Using this account to fund the local share cost will leave a deficit of $46,638.
Councillor Barry Wills asked how, given the changing climate, could the council bring the ‘‘emergency fund’’ back up and maintain it in the future.
‘‘If we have another run of events next year we are in the cactus really – we will have to rely entirely on NZTA.’’
Muir said it was a concern. ‘‘What’s concerning me more is whether we actually get our baseline programme funded by NZTA . . . Every time we get a reduction it makes us vulnerable to these events.’’