Friday 5 June 2015

Critical culvert gets an upgrade

Next week Christchurch City Council starts work on upgrading the stormwater culvert under Shirley Road, between Emmett Street and Stapletons Road so it can handle higher flows of water.

The work will be carried out by the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT), and begins on Monday 8 June 2015. It is expected to take up to eight months to complete and the larger culvert will make the stormwater network in the area more resilient and reduce the risk of flooding upstream.

This is the first of the projects to flow out of the Land Drainage Recovery Programme (LDRP) and is a part of the Dudley Creek Long Term Flood Remediation Project. It will help reduce the risk of flooding to the Shirley Stream area. The construction of the Tay Street drain pump station in Kensington Avenue – another key project in the Dudley Creek area that will help reduce the risk of flooding – is now completed. The pump station is able to pump stormwater in the event of heavy rain and an operational protocol has been put in place in case of forecast heavy rainfall.

Keith Davison, Unit Manager Storm Water and Land Drainage Rebuild, explains, "The Land Drainage Recovery Programme is in the area-by-area investigation phase – this is where we run desktop studies to build a comprehensive picture of flooding to look at opportunities and challenges across the city. Engineers are also out on the streets and waterways looking at things like water flow, culverts, bridges and plantings. All of this work is overlaid with information we already have about flooding and waterways, as well as new information we continue to receive from residents about their properties and neighbourhoods."

Councillor Pauline Cotter, Chair of the Council's Land Drainage Recovery Programme Working Party, says she is pleased the work is about to get underway.

"The main task of the LDRP programme is to reduce the risk of flooding throughout Christchurch City as a result of the Christchurch Earthquakes. The programme was developed following the short term solutions that came out of the Mayoral Flood Taskforce set up more than a year ago. This upgrade of the Shirley Stream culvert is the first project in the longer term recovery programme and will be welcome news to residents along Shirley Stream in the Dudley Creek area."

Keith Davison explains that Christchurch is largely built on swamp land and has always been a low-lying city with areas that are prone to flooding.

"The Canterbury Earthquakes have worsened flooding in many areas by damaging both the land and the waterways. The programme has been looking at options across the city and in particular areas susceptible to flooding – there are a lot of individual projects involved and significant large-scale physical works are needed to lessen the risk of flooding in the most flood-affected areas".

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