The minister has written to residents expressing sorrow about sewage flowing into Surrey St and saying he expects Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) to "provide solutions".
Earlier this week, HNZ Southern’s medical officer of health Dr Michael Butchard wrote to Surrey St residents saying he had met the Dunedin City Council’s Three Waters group manager John McAndrew and asked to be "informed of progress in two months’ time".
Mr Brown’s letter was written only a day after the Ombudsman acknowledged a complaint from the residents, who have united as the Surrey Street Flood Action Group.
The group told the Ombudsman written requests for action by local health officials had fallen on deaf ears.
They wanted the health officials to compel Dunedin City Council to fix the area’s under-performing drainage.
The flooding had been flagged as being caused by an engineering fail and a health hazard for decades, the group said.
Their demands to the Dunedin city and Otago regional councils — including a 16-page letter sent in April to chief executives Sandy Graham and Richard Saunders — had not resulted in meaningful responses.
In correspondence to the Ombudsman’s office, group convener Lynne Newell said residents were sick of being "fobbed off".
They were "drowning in engineering reports ... and sewage! We are not going to let this go".
Ms Newell said the city council had repeatedly given reassurances — including in its nine-year plan — that investigations and decisions were happening, but wastewater and sewage kept bubbling up.
"Everyone we call on for help believes the spin the council gives them. We get shoved from pillar to post," Ms Newell said.
She had lived in Surrey St since 2009 and there were elderly people and families on the street who should all be protected from sewage.
HNZ had not replied to the group’s April letter and the recent letter from Dr Butchard — received after the Ombudsman had been contacted — had not acknowledged the April letter.
Ms Newell yesterday replied to Dr Butchard’s letter, referencing the residents’ complaints were with the Ombudsman and demanding a serious investigation and enforcement action by HNZ against the council.
Group facilitator Julian Doorey said it was "shameful" the problem had not been fixed.
He said the South Dunedin Future project, which was planning the long-term future of South Dunedin due to the impacts of climate change, had contributed to the latest delays, but there had been delays for years.
Mr McAndrew acknowledged sewage on Surrey St was a "significant issue" and was due to a "bottleneck".
He indicated a lack of money was the reason a solution had been delayed.
The council was "working diligently to resolve it, but the complexities and costs involved mean it can’t be rushed".
The council was "progressing the more significant work required to implement a permanent fix".
"The issues and options involved are complex and expensive, so we need to plan carefully, but progress is being made and we expect to be able to release further information later this year.
"The broader context is that the DCC is catching up on historical under-investment in infrastructure renewals, which has left us with old pipes in need of replacement and a network in need of change."
Neil Johnstone, one of the group’s members, said that "as an experienced engineer I find it hard to believe the solution is that complicated".
"If we can put men on the moon, we can fix pipes".
