Pipeline planned to fix flooding issues
A FLOODPRONE road south of Oamaru may have a pipeline installed to prevent future road closures.
At its meeting next Tuesday, the Waitaki District Council assets committee will consider a recommendation to council that $15,000 be budgeted for a private pipeline to be constructed in Springfield Rd, east of Fortification Rd.
A 200m lowlying section of the road, one of more than 30 closed around the district during July’s recordsetting rainfall, is prone to flooding during prolonged heavy rain and subsequent irrigation pond level increases.
A report by Waitaki District Council assets group manager Neil Jorgensen said after heavy rainfall, the road could be ‘‘effectively closed for several months at a time,’’ as water pooled and could not escape.
When required, a landowner near the area mechanically pumped the water into stormwater channels to clear it, which Mr Jorgensen said had been done at least once a year for the past several years, at a cost of $5000 each time.
Council officers have recommended that a private pipeline be installed and a culvert constructed so water could be fed into nearby irrigation ponds.
The landowner was prepared to construct the pipeline, which would be funded from the council’s unsubsidised roading budget.