The Otago Peninsula was hardest hit by the weekend's heavy persistent rain, which caused several slips, closed roads and resulted in properties being inundated with mud.
An overflowing culvert in Conway St caused the third flood in three years at Macandrew Bay School and Play Centre, while the centre's newly revamped playground was unable to open yesterday after being covered in mud on Sunday.
Dunedin City Council transport delivery manager Josh von Pein said a slip had closed Highcliff Rd between Sandymount and Seaton Rds for the rest of the week, and cracks had appeared in its surface.
Mr von Pein said significant work would be required to repair the road, which will mean further road closures.
Dozens of other slips were reported across the city, he said.
Macandrew Bay Playcentre president Rebekah Gray said it was ``soul-destroying'' to be unable to open the newly-revamped playground yesterday, after it recorded its third flood in three years.
Mud covered the playground and caked its new astroturf.
``There's a lot of very devastated families,'' Ms Gray said.
Parents at the playcentre believed an undersized culvert near Conway St was to blame for the repeated flooding.
NZ Playcentre Federation regional manager Antoinette McLean said the council should have taken action to prevent it happening again.
``We haven't had the support [from the council] we'd like to have seen.''
``[We] had hoped they would come up with a robust solution.''
The muddy water overflowing the culvert did not stop at the playcentre.
It flowed into Macandrew Bay School, where the music room, cellar and boiler room, sports shed and caretaker's shed had all been flooded, principal Bernadette Newlands said.
Ms Newlands said it was especially concerning the boiler room had been flooded, as it was thought water might have got into the gearbox, though the school had not closed yesterday.
The muddy water had also flowed into three properties in nearby Greenacres St.
One of those houses belonged to retired builder Bob Wells, who said it had seeped under his home.
Mr Wells said it was simply a matter of improving the drainage by making the culvert deeper or wider, and he urged the council to take action.
``They've got to get some person that's practical to come down and have a yarn about it.''
Council group manager 3 Waters Tom Dyer said a crew would be on site today to help remove silt and debris from the playground, and the council would be looking at taking further action.
``The DCC has been looking at what can be done in the short term to alleviate the problem.
``Staff are also working on long-term improvements''.
Forbury Rd, in St Clair, suffered large amounts of surface flooding on Sunday night.
The St Clair Community Kindergarten in nearby Albert St was closed yesterday after being extensively flooded.
Asked if the stormwater system in the area was fit for purpose, Mr Dyer said while it was old, there were ``no particular problems with it''.
``In this instance the flooding occurred because a small section of the pipe, on the corner of Forbury Rd and Sandringham St, was damaged,'' he said.
``This is the second time this year this section of the pipe has been damaged, so staff will look at more significant work to reduce the likelihood of this happening again.''
