Council weighs options over Franz Josef floodwall ‘seepage’

The regional council is awaiting a hearing date after the Scenic Circle Hotel Group objected at the last minute in the consent process for the flood protection bank improvement. Photo: Greymouth Star/Brendon McMahon

The West Coast Regional Council is keeping an eye on 'seepage' of the floodwalls around Franz Josef Glacier village.

Acting operations manager Colin Munn said the council had sent engineering staff to the Waiho (Waiau) protection walls north of the township following the Waitangi Weekend flood, after residents reported water seeping through the banks.

"We were fortunate when it was inspected it was a perfect time ... we could see what was happening."

Munn said the council had looked at options to address the seepage.

A bigger project was planned to improve and extend the existing stopbanks on the north side of the river, however, this is currently stalled due to a blip in the consenting process.

The area where the seepage was occurring was owned by the Westland District Council.

A view of the current protection bank at Franz Josef Glacier, looking upstream towards the township from just behind the abandoned Scenic Circle Mueller Wing. The protection bank at this point failed in the March 2016 flood, which ruined the adjoining hotel. Photo: Brendon McMahon/Greymouth Star

"They considered it and decided it wasn't major and will leave it in the meantime," Munn said.

Once the planned work was undertaken there, administration of the stopbank would fall to the regional council.

All the regional council could do was advise the district council and keep a close eye on it.

"At this stage we haven't taken it further but ... ultimately we need to have a much more integrated system for this."

Munn said a lot of floodwalls had issues with seepage from time to time. The crucial factor was if that seepage coincided with the loss of bank material, and a risk of the stopbank collapsing.

"That would be a concern. Given there is a plan to improve that in the future, we have a way forward."

Currently the regional council is awaiting a hearing date after the adjoining landowner Scenic Circle Hotel Group objected at the last minute in the consent process for the flood protection bank improvement, declining to give affected party sign off.

Munn said they continued to work through the consent process.

Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air