Flood maps altered following feedback

Feedback and local knowledge from residents has led to amendments to a proposed district plan change aimed at keeping people and property safe in times of severe flood.

 

Many Thames-Coromandel district residents and ratepayers are potentially affected by natural hazards and the council has been working with Environment Waikato to address the risks through a draft proposed plan change as part of the Peninsula Project.

 

More than 150 comments were received from residents and landowners following initial consultation on the draft plan change in early 2007, many wanting assurances that flood modelling technical data produced by EW was as accurate as possible and the methodology used for assessing risks could stand up to rigorous scrutiny.

 

The council will shortly be sending out 1600 letters to individual landowners advising them that the technical flooding information and map for their catchment has been amended following their feedback.

 

“We’ve carried out extra work to address some of the concerns raised by the community with regard to both the robustness of the flood modelling and the extent of the proposed controls on development of people’s property,” says Senior Policy Planner Katherine Davies.

 

“The flood modelling has been simplified from five categories to three - ‘Low’, ‘Medium’ and ‘High’ Flood Hazards – and we’ve taken on board the comments received regarding the need for resource consents for minor work within the low flood hazard category,” she says.

 

No decisions have been confirmed yet on what this new information will mean in relation to land use. The full council will attend a workshop in late June to debate how to use the new information and other issues associated with the draft plan change.

 

However the amended information from EW is good news for those in the ‘low’ hazard areas.

 

“It means that work such as a house extension - currently a permitted activity in the low hazard category – will not usually require additional resource consent as previously proposed, although it will continue to have flooding issues addressed via the building consent process.”

 

Flood modelling work was originally done on 14 catchments and since then the Kauaeranga River has also been modelled. This area will also be included in the proposed plan change, and affected landowners will be mailed a letter explaining what stage the Council is at in the process.

 

 

 

 

 

Each catchment has an accompanying flood hazard assessment report, explaining what methodology was used for the flood modelling and how to interpret the information contained on maps. Copies of this report are available on the council’s website www.tcdc.govt.nz under consultations and submissions/natural hazards variations & plan change, or by contacting the council.

 

The new information will eventually replace existing flood management plan maps but Ms Davies says the council will still refer to the old flooding information in areas where there is no new information to replace it.