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Horizons Regional Council (HRC) has recently consulted the Wanganui Community on a proposal to construct flood protection structures to protect Wanganui City from Whanganui River flooding.
HRC has recommended that the Lower Whanganui Scheme should:
- protect Wanganui against a 1 in 200 year flood (0.5% chance of occurring in any one year);
- protect the four flood risk areas of Balgownie, Kowhai Park, Putiki, and Wanganui Central City from Moutoa Gardens to the Cobham Bridge; and
- the works should comprise a combination of earth stopbanks, flood walls and stop logs.
If adopted Wanganui ratepayers will contribute 80% of the funds required for the scheme via rates, with the rest of the region contributing 20% toward the scheme, in the form of a general rate. Horizons has set proposed performance measures and targets for flood protection at Balgownie and budgeted $1.5M for this work in the Draft Annual Plan. Horizons proposes to charge Wanganui ratepayers $72.74 per floodable property; $46.70 per non flooding property and $8.81 per rural property.
The Wanganui District Council has made a submission on the following points:
- The Wanganui District Council supports the investigation into the options for increasing the level of flood protection for the urban area of Wanganui City. Council however has grave reservations as to the adequacy of the consultation undertaken, and in particular the level of understanding by the Wanganui community of the financial and environmental implications of the options proposed. The Wanganui District Council requests therefore that the time for making submissions to the Lower Whanganui River Flood Protection – Flood Mitigation Options be extended for at least a further three months. In addition to the extension of the consultation time, it is imperative that the community have access to visual representations of what is proposed. Without visual representations of what the proposed works will actually look like, the community can not make informed decisions.
- Wanganui District Council is also very concerned that there has been insufficient debate over the level of protection that should be provided. The decision to protect for the 200 year (0.5% probability) flood must be comprehensively debated before decisions are made on the type, location, and design of any built structure.
- Wanganui District Council believes that the loan repayments for any flood protection works should be over a longer rather a shorter term. If repayment is spread over 50 years, the cost to the ratepayer of today will be more acceptable, and the community that continues to benefit from the protection will pay their share. WDC would also like the construction period to be shortened to the minimum required. This will mean that increases in construction costs will be minimized.
- Wanganui District Council would like strong consideration to be given to separating each “stage” of the flood protection, to the effect that rates are imposed on a staged basis. This would spread the increase in rates over the period of construction, rather than imposing it in one hit.
The Council has submitted general comments on each of the four stages proposed. Council’s submission supports in general the Balgownie stop bank as that being most urgent, however reserves judgment on all stages proposed, until more detail is available.
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