At a meeting at the start of the month, the council recalled how the district received so much rain a state of emergency had been declared on October 4.
Contractors busy with days of flood inspections and road management immediately began clearing flood damage, including interference with water treatment.
Inspectors concluded one severe washout in Summerhill Rd was caused by an illegally dumped kitchen whiteware item blocking and blowing out a culvert.
Transport operations manager James Allison’s Infrastructure Strategy and Operations Committee report estimated about 25% of repairs were complete.
In later debate, the names of two new roads where sections have already sold were decided.
Various worthy locals were nominated but voting carried overwhelmingly to honour an old agreement with the subdivision’s original landowner, Oswald Sim, and name the second road after William Newnham, chief engineer of Balclutha’s sturdy concrete bridge.
Mayor Bryan Cadogan remarked on the historical theme of Oswald Court and Newnham Court, and their connections with nearby Tsukigawa Tce, named for Kazuyuki Kiyohei Tsukigawa, the captain of the riverboat SS Clutha from 1908-39.
