Drainage issue tackled at last
STORMWATER problems at the centre of an Otago Peninsula couple’s dispute with the Dunedin City Council are finally being addressed.
Council contractors have begun work on a new 165mlong, $460,000 stormwater pipe to carry stormwater off the hillside at 240 Portobello Rd and out to Otago Harbour.
The property was previously owned by Steve and Lorraine Hawkins, who found themselves in a protracted battle with the council over stormwater washing down a creek on their land.
The couple blamed the council for allowing development above their home, which fed more stormwater into the creek, transforming it into a torrent that caused slips, erosion and a waterfall on to Portobello Rd when it rained.
The council eventually bought the property for $800,000 last year, and paid about $100,000 to cover the Hawkins’ costs, but still had to address the stormwater torrent or risk a prosecution by the Otago Regional Council.
Yesterday, council engineering project manager Camilla Bennett said the new pipe would run from near the couple’s old house, down their driveway and under Portobello Rd to the harbour.
The pipe would control the stormwater, reduce the risk of erosion and the volume of water that ‘‘cascades’’ on to Portobello Rd following heavy rain, she said.
The work began on February 10, and included temporary traffic restrictions in the area between 9am and 4pm.
However, Portobello Rd will be closed to all traffic, between Marne St and the Macandrew Bay Yacht Club, from 10pm tomorrow until 6am on Friday.
A diversion will take traffic along Castlewood and Highcliff Rds, but the closure may need to be repeated from 10pm on February 26 until 6am on February 27.