‘Muddlemarch’ flood despair

A second Middlemarch flood in two years has residents calling for urgent action.

"There’s got to be a solution," Norma Emerson, owner of the Tap & Dough Bistro, in Snow Ave, said yesterday.

"Something now should ... have been done," Mrs Emerson said.

She did not know of a specific remedy, but did know the situation was "totally unacceptable", she said.

Her husband, Emerson’s Brewery founder Richard Emerson, yesterday said Middlemarch could be renamed "Muddlemarch"after all the unsightly mud left by Saturday evening’s floodwaters.

Mrs Emerson, who runs the bistro with her husband, said the business was insured, but this flooding, after flooding in November 2018, disrupted business in the peak summer season.

A burst of heavy rain and hail from about 2.30pm yesterday reflooded several of the buildings that had already been partiallly cleaned.

Strath Taieri Community Board chairman Barry Williams said it was "hugely disappointing" two major flood events had happened within about two years, and more action was needed.

"I feel very disappointed and let down," he said yesterday.

A Dunedin City Council spokesman said power to Middlemarch— initially cut by a lightning strike at 2.30pm—was restored about 5pm, and it was safe for residents to resume flushing their toilets.

Middlemarch residents were advised not to drink water from bores unless treated with a filter, and a water tanker was at the Strath Taieri Community Hall for anyone wanting clean drinking water, the spokesman said.

Mrs Emerson said the former Dunedin City Council-owned train no longer came to Middlemarch, and the adverse effects of flooding added to that earlier loss of tourism business.

More planning and resources should be devoted to overcoming the adverse economic effects of flooding, she said.

Observers said the water level in Snow Ave had risen much more quickly on Saturday evening than when the bistro flooded in November 2018.

Heath Frew, a Middlemarch contract worker, yesterday helped clean up a friend’s previously flooded house in Banks Ave.

The DCC and Otago Regional Council might have already made some steps, but more action was clearly needed to avoid further flooding, given that the Bank Ave house had already been affected by the 2018 flooding, he said.

Water flowed into Bank Ave via a side street from the Middlemarch main street, State Highway 87, but improved drainage was needed, because the water had "nowhere to go" and just built up.

Shebikeshebikes bike rental firm co-owner Steve Goodlass, of Omakau, said it was "devastating" that the firm’s Snow Ave Middlemarch depot was twice flooded at the weekend in the summer high season.

He was also "really concerned" that not enough flood control support was being provided for the township.