Lives will be lost if contractors do not go back to basics when responding to floods in remote parts of the Clutha district, members of the West Otago Community Board say.
The board heard from locals at its meeting in Tapanui yesterday who were concerned about how the Clutha District Council and its contractors handled flooding in late July.
Kelso resident Athol Lawlor said the way flood warning signs were distributed and used in West Otago was an ''absolute shambles''.
They were not put up in time or in the right places and several took too long to be taken down after flooding subsided.
Historically, he said, locals had put signs up during flooding as they knew the area better than contractors.
Senior Constable John Mawhinney, of Tapanui, told the board people with 4WD vehicles often felt they were able to drive through flooded areas but it encouraged others less well equipped to try: ''Then other people ... not in four-wheel-drives, with smaller brains, think they can float across the water.''
There were particular issues on Koi Flat Rd, Ardmore Rd and Wooded Hill Rd.
During a long discussion on the matter, council operations manager Paul Jamison responded to concerns and discussed a report he had provided the board.
Contractors were aware of issues with the placement of signs and that there were not enough to cover the district, he said.
A new roading contract had been in effect in the district for only about three weeks in July, so the contractors had been still getting used to the area.
However, board member Sue Wink did not accept that as a reasonable excuse.
''People's lives are at risk.''
She said procedures during flooding should be taken ''back to basics''.
West Otago ward councillor Michele Kennedy said a West Otago group needed to be formed, including council staff and contractors, to formalise requirements in emergency situations.
She said she and fellow ward councillor John Herbert spent all day on July 22 trying to place warnings in appropriate areas and check residents were safe.
Council service delivery group manager Jules Witt told the board with such a large roading network ''we're never going to have enough signs.''
People needed to take personal responsibility and use their ''common sense''.
The board agreed to follow up on the possibility of forming a small group or extended phone tree.
