Keeping Floodwaters At Bay

Some of the most important work the Marlborough District Council does for the people of Marlborough is flood protection.

Keeping a watch on the Wairau River, to quote one of our most experienced river management team members, is like having a tiger by the tail. The river literally never sleeps; it is a constant battle to direct the river away from the stopbanks that protect Blenheim and the surrounding plains from the risk of being submerged in a major flood.

The damage caused by the moderate floods of late 2010 and May 2011 is still emerging. As more erosion sites have been discovered, it’s anticipated there’s an extra quarter of a million dollars’ worth of work going to be necessary over this autumn to repair the rock groynes and secure the rock armouring which help keep the riverbanks intact.

Over the years, many millions of dollars have gone into building and maintaining flood control works to keep Blenheim and the adjacent flood plains safe. In the past, the massive volumes of water that come down the Wairau in flood have had devastating impact. Today still, flood protection is the sixth most costly area of work for the Marlborough District Council, ranked just below core activities like solid waste and sewerage.

It costs the region over $4M a year to hold the Wairau, and the other, smaller rivers, in check. Under Council’s draft Long Term Plan 2012-22, capital expenditure of about $1M a year is also to be provided to undertake further stopbank upgrades, replace aging Blenheim stormwater pump stations and improve the rural drainage network.

More information about Council’s flood control is available in the Council’s draft Long Term Plan which will be on the Council’s website following adoption by Council on the afternoon of Thursday, 5 April  www.marlborough.govt.nz

Make a submission on the draft Long Term Plan. Submissions open 5 April.