‘I would just like my house to not fall into the sea’

Rolf Liechti purchased his Bluecliffs home just over a year ago and since then about 50m of land behind it has disappeared due to coastal erosion.

He reckons another 5m of erosion could cause it to fall into the water below.

Liechti’s house is at the end of Bluecliffs Beach Rd in Western Southland; the last in a row of 18 coastal homes, and the closest to the Waiau River mouth, and an old dump site that may contain explosives.

He’s in the most problematic location of all the Bluecliffs residents, as authorities fight against mother nature, trying to save the residents’ homes.

When the tide was high and the winds strong, the ocean waves whipped through the river mouth and pounded against the bank that Liechti’s house was on, he said.

“I lose a little bit of bank when it does that.” A king tide was due on March 10, he said.

“If it’s stormy, this house could go.” Liechti’s home is one of six owned by permanent residents at Bluecliffs, with another 12 cribs also on the road. Two issues are at play. Authorities are preparing to have a second crack at digging out a new river mouth, several hundred metres away from the homes, in a bid to halt the coastal erosion putting them at risk.

And this weekend, authorities start removing materials from the old tip at Bluecliffs.

The dump site, closest to Liechti’s home, could potentially contain explosives, so residents were given two days’ notice to move out by 4pm Friday, so the tip clearance work could commence.

The Southland Times was told that police were at the scene yesterday afternoon, with at least one resident refusing to move out, which they were legally required to do under a state of emergency.

Mayor Rob Scott said he was confident they would go.

Full-time accommodation was organised in Tuatapere for the residents during the tip clearance, with Liechti saying he was being put up in a room at a backpacker’s lodge.

He had been trying to organise his house to be shifted towards the front of his section when residents were told they had to leave. “I can’t do it now because no-one is allowed here.”

He had asked authorities to put rocks in front of the bank to protect his house from coastal erosion in the interim. “I would just like my house to not fall into the sea.”

Emergency Management Southland controller Lucy Hicks said installing rock protection in front of the houses was a possible mitigation to ongoing erosion and would be considered as part of the medium to long-term solution.

“At this time, installing rock protection in front of the houses near the dump site isn’t possible as it’s not safe for heavy machinery to move over the site while the hazardous materials are still there.”

Residents thinking about moving their houses should continue their planning, Hicks said.

“Planning to move homes to the front of properties or away from the area entirely is a positive move by some residents, and they should continue to finalise these plans while the work to clear the dump material is under way.”

Emergency Management Southland copped criticism from Bluecliffs batch owner Glenn Puna this week, for its handling of the response

Southland District mayor Rob Scott, who declared a local state of emergency on February 8 when coastal damage to the Bluecliffs bank accelerated, said tensions were understandably high.

“These are their houses and the threat is real. It’s a tough time, especially for the ones like Rolf who are on the end ... the last month or so has seen exponential erosion in front of his place.”