Flooding Impact Across Marlborough

Somewhere between 500 and 600 road warning signs are now in place around Marlborough where surface flooding and swollen rivers have again closed roads. Rain is predicted to continue steadily at 3-5 mm an hour until mid-afternoon tomorrow.

Marlborough Roads contractors have called on stocks of road signs from other local businesses and arrangements made to get more signs delivered from outside the district should they be required.

As well as the exclamation mark warning sign, reduced speed signs are being widely used and motorists are being asked to take extreme care anywhere that any signs or barriers have been erected.

“Drivers must use their common sense. There’s no sense in driving fast into surface water given that the shoulder of the road may have crumbled. It’s too easy to lose control of a vehicle,” says Council Assets and Services manager Mark Wheeler.

By mid-afternoon Hammerichs Road was again being closed following the overnight closure of Old Renwick Road between Pak Lims Corner and Jacksons Road where the Omaka and Fairhall fords were again in flood. Caution is advised on SH 63 from just behind Renwick up to Wairau Valley township.

Drivers are also warned to watch for flooding on Ben Morven, Godfrey, Paynters and Brookby Roads and near Fairhall School. Localised flooding has occurred on Taylor Pass Road just beyond Wither Road and also across town at Dillons Point Road.

“The Omaka River which has caused most of the problems is not as big as it was a few days ago and there is not as much debris being brought down with the floodwaters this time. The rainfall has been quite concentrated down on the flats rather than in the headwaters but because everywhere is so sodden the run off is keeping river levels up – even though the rainfall isn’t particularly heavy,” according to Council Rivers Manager Geoff Dick.

Marlborough Roads crews are on standby to deal with slips and a supply of sandbags is available although there was no expectation that they would be needed.

The Northbank area is passable despite flooding at three points, slips and a tree down. Slips and rockfalls are a continuing hazard in other areas including the Awatere Valley Road, Camerons Road in Seddon, Taylor Pass Road, the Ure Road, SH1 at Welds Pass and in the Kenepuru where a slip was cleared earlier at the Mistletoe Bay turning and another came down at Nikau Cove this afternoon.

Ward Beach Road has been closed since last week due to flooding at Needles Creed Ford and Fosters Street and Reserve Road in Seddon are still closed. Redwood Pass Road is also closed.

In some places, property owners had been finding their own driveway culverts are too small to handle the flow.

In Blenheim, surface flooding was heaviest in Springlands and Mayfield.

The high groundwater level created problems for the town’s stormwater and sewer systems and by mid-morning Council staff began operating some controlled sewerage overflows to ease the pressure.

“The groundwater was so high in some areas that it was filling the sewerage network up. For the first time, we’ve installed temporary pumps at a couple of points in Springlands to take the load off the sewerage system,” says Council Operations and Maintenance Engineer Stephen Rooney.

Today than 80 calls were received by the Council from people who were experiencing problems with their plumbing as a result of the overloaded stormwater and sewer systems.

“People were noticing that toilets were slow to flush and in some places the gulleytraps outside were overflowing. People should avoid contact with effluent or contaminated water if possible but if they do, they should wash hands well.”

Council will have a maintenance team working until later this evening and people with sewage or stormwater problems are asked to telephone the Council.

Cases of raw sewage overflowing from gullytraps onto property were reported across town north of Alabama Road and Council will visit all properties where this is reported.

It was important that anyone in this situation takes particular care to follow good hygiene practices and don’t come into direct contact with raw sewage.

Mr Rooney said it was expected that both systems would be operating normally by morning so long as there were no further prolonged rainfall.