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 low-lying section of the road, one of more than 30 closed around the district during July’s record-setting 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.
