North East Valley resident Kathy Murphy strolls through
Chingford Park. She hopes that Otago Regional Council plans
to use the park as an emergency flood containment area will
not change it too much. Photo by Dan Hutchinson.
Chingford Park is to become an emergency flood water
catchment pond to protect schools, businesses and 450 North
East Valley houses.
Otago Regional Council director of environmental engineering
and natural hazards Gavin Palmer outlined $840,000 worth of
proposed flood protection measures at a council meeting
yesterday.
He said previous land-use decisions seemed to have paid
little regard to the flood risk posed by Lindsay Creek.
"Intense subdivision has occurred, restricting the space
available for public works and increasing the vulnerability
of houses and their occupants to the impacts of flooding.
"The flood risk is higher than what is generally considered
acceptable in New Zealand for an urban area."
The core of the project would be a $690,000 floodwater
detention area in Chingford Park.
Mr Palmer said water would only be diverted from Palmer Creek
when the level reached 20cu m per second - the size of the
peak flows during the April 2006 flood, levels that could be
expected every 10 to 20 years.
There was room for a second pond at Chingford Park but that
was not part of the proposal.
A plan to widen the culverts that carry Lindsay Creek was
previously rejected because of the cost. The Chingford Park
pond would require the construction of a 2.5m-high embankment
but the park would continue to be used as it was now. Other
work, including providing a floodwater dam above Forrester
Park would require resource consent because some private land
would be flooded when in use, Mr Palmer said.
FLOOD PROTECTION MEASURES
PROJECT COSTS
Chingford Park detention area ... $690,000
Re-grading the bed of Palmers Quarry ... $70,000
Floodwall from Felix to Pentland St ... $50,000
Forrester Park culvert ... $30,000
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.