Waihī Beach floods: Community 'worries every time it rains'

"We now have a community that worries every time it rains. That is worried that one day there will be a fatality."

These comments were made by Sue Hope at the Waihī Beach Community Board meeting last week. Residents were venting their concerns after flash floods ripped through the seaside town on 29 May.

Twenty-seven people were evacuated during the floods, including residents from 11 council-owned elder housing units on Beach Road. The water swiftly rose to window height forcing them to flee and leave behind treasured possessions.

Two families were also evacuated from local holiday parks.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council said 67 millimetres of rain fell in just over an hour, with 91.4mm recorded in total on 29 May. The stormwater network simply did not have the capacity to deal with the amount of rain that fell that day, the council said.

Hope, who is part of the Storm Water Action Team (SWAT), described the evacuations as "horrifying" and the destruction at the Tasman Holiday Park as "immense".

She told the meeting there had been three "serious floods" in Waihī Beach since February.

"Our elderly residents, people with impaired mobility, people with special needs and children are particularly at risk," she said.

"Some people have lost all their possessions. Businesses have suffered through damage to their properties, and as a result, tourism suffers."

SWAT was formed by volunteers after similar flash floods in 2013 caused evacuations as well.

The group worked alongside the council to come up with stormwater projects that would help to alleviate future issues.

Hope said the projects were put into the council's 2015-2025 long-term plan but some, like One Mile Creek had been deferred.

"We [SWAT] appreciate being on the team again, but we expect progress this time round."

Michelle Carmine, director of Element Planning in Waihī Beach, questioned if the catchment management plans were certified by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. She said more education was needed around stormwater management for the wider community.

"We have an issue here [in Waihī Beach] and it's not just council's responsibility it is everyone's."

Mark Hickey presented a petition of behalf of Waihī Beach residents signed by 66 people outlining their concerns about the "extreme flooding".

It stated: "WBOPDC would do well to preempt this huge problem by clearing all the drains culverts and catchment ponds of which most are overgrown and filled with sediment. Contact has been made to [the] council with little or no regard to major problems. Our rates are very high and yet we feel we are the forgotten and neglected end of the region."

Other members of the public spoke about flooding issues at The Crescent and the Two-Mile Creek Bank Protection project.

Community Board chairperson Ross Goudie said the elder housing units either needed to be raised or ground below filled up so they "never flooded" again.

Deputy chief executive and infrastructure general manager Gary Allis said the council would collate all the information and concerns and was working towards solutions.

"It's reality feedback and I don't want to make promises we can't keep at the moment."

The council held an information session prior to the community board and there had been other public meetings since the floods as well.

He said staff in that area were already under "significant pressure" because of previous extreme weather events like Cyclone Gabrielle and the flooding on Auckland Anniversary weekend, that caused $20 million in damage to the region.

After the meeting, Allis told Local Democracy Reporting the council budgeted $19.67m in its Long Term Plan 2021-31 to help manage stormwater at Waihī Beach.

Asked the reason for the delays, he said all of the projects in the northern end of Waihī Beach are inter-linked with the exception of the Waihī Beach dam and One Mile Creek improvements.

"The Two Mile Creek project has been significantly delayed due to difficulties getting landowner permissions to undertake the work on their private property. Two Mile Creek erosion protection works are beginning now, and work is now underway with preliminary design on other catchment improvements."

With the elder housing, nine of the tenants had been housed locally in self-contained accommodation. One had been found permanent accommodation in a nearby care facility to assist with their ongoing needs, Allis said.

The future of the housing was still being investigated - options included raising it up or relocating it, he said.

In terms of maintenance, the council said its maintenance contractor completed inspections of drains culverts and other critical infrastructure when it received a heavy weather warning.

Mayor James Denyer, who was at the meeting, said "improvements are coming" and the council had chosen to prioritise stormwater projects as part of its 2023/24 Annual Plan.

"There have been delays and I'm glad now things seem to be moving."

The meeting was also attended by councillors, Rodney Joyce, Don Thwaites and deputy mayor John Scrimgeour.

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

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