Dunedin’s onslaught of rain earlier this month put the question of what to do about Surrey St back on the agenda at an infrastructure services committee on Tuesday.
Cr Sophie Barker, on behalf of a member of the public, asked council if it would consider reinstating a $4 million plan to alleviate flooding in the area by diverting wastewater into Kaikorai Stream.
Three Waters planning manager Jared Oliver said a short-term solution was proposed in 2018 to direct the Kaikorai Valley wastewater flow to the Kaikorai Stream during wet weather rather than passing the bottleneck at Surrey St on its way to the Tahuna Wastewater plant.
"When we looked at it and engaged with mana whenua, the costs to treat that water before discharge was really high, in the order of about $15 million, so we put it on hold," Mr Oliver said.
Mana whenua also told the council Kaikorai Stream was spiritually important to iwi.
"Wet weather management is a real issue for wastewater, so we’re planning some more investigation to find the most cost-effective way to deal with it," he said.
Cr Jim O’Malley said Surrey St residents wanted an answer now, not later, about what the council was going to do to stop sewage overflowing during wet weather.
"The people of Surrey St have been in those houses for 10 years or longer — we’re getting to the point where that argument needs to get more clear," he said.
For a project that was originally initiated nine years ago, Cr O’Malley said he was "conscious of the passing of time".
Mr Oliver said council staff hoped to be able to provide answers on the best suite of options by the end of next year.
Speaking after the meeting, Cr Carmen Houlahan said "urgent action" was needed to reduce the risk of flooding in the area.
"These people should not live in fear when it rains that their house might flood again.
"I can remember this being an election issue in 2019. It has taken too long. A solution needs to be found to fix or help this problem urgently."
