The people of Glenorchy, at the head of Lake Wakatipu, have described themselves as resilient and do not want major changes to the town, which they say will damage the character of the area.
The Otago Regional Council has received $100,000 from the Ministry for the Environment to help find "nature-based" adaptation solutions for the township.
Councillors received a report from the safety and resilience committee yesterday that painted a grim picture for Glenorchy.
The report said the township faced several issues as it was "exposed to multiple natural hazard risks, including those due to seismic events, flooding and slope-related processes" and "this risk setting is compounded by a changing climate and landscape-scale geomorphic change".
Two community sessions held in August were attended by more than 50 people.
The report said the people of Glenorchy believed they were very resilient and there was a "need to ensure that, at a household, business, and community level, we are prepared for potential hazard events (i.e., an Alpine Fault event), including taking care of visitors and tourists".
"We value nature-based solutions that have multiple benefits," the report said.
Nature-based solutions include activities such as planting, or soft engineering, in an effort to mitigate risks. Spalls and soil pillows are examples of soft engineering options.
The report said other solutions canvassed at the community sessions included alternative transport links, such as wharves, jetties and air.
"Generally, we prefer adaptation responses that address more frequent hazard events rather than large-scale adaptation responses that would drastically impact the character of the area," it said.
The report noted the council has been successful in gaining a funding contribution of $100,000 towards the "nature-based solutions" aspects of the investigation through the Ministry for the Environment funding programme, Nature Based Solutions for Resilience Planning.
This is based on the council contributing $50,000.
"It is proposed that the project will progress the screening study into an investigation and assessment of the feasibility of innovative, nature-based approaches for flood and erosion mitigation available for braided rivers in an alpine environment such as the Dart and Rees Rivers flood plains," the report said.
At yesterday’s meeting, Cr Elliot Weir asked whether there was now a "default template" for adaptation, particularly in light of work being done in the South Dunedin area.
ORC natural hazards manager Jean-Luc Payan said there were national guidelines and the work being done in South Dunedin and Glenorchy was a progression of this.
Council chairwoman Gretchen Robertson said rivers, gravels and techtonics created stunning landscapes, but the "dynamic environment" also presented potential hazard challenges for the township.
"We're really keen to get conversations going with the people of Glenorchy.
"We’ve got the technical knowledge, the specialist skills, the desire to work with community and tools for decision making to assist communities.
"Sitting back waiting for disaster and reacting is not what we're about.
"We're working with people and the environment, and both are ever changing."
Councillors agreed more consultation was needed for the strategy, due to be completed in June.
