Businesses in Frances St, Balclutha were inundated during heavy rain in early October, despite improvements made to flood mitigation measures in the Hospital Creek catchment of the town following serious flooding in February 2020.
The Clutha District Council commissioned an independent report on the October event after local businesses claimed a lack of timely action, and human error, might have been responsible for the flooding of the catchment.
At the time, Duffy Engineering owner George Duffy said his yard had been flooded to a depth of 50cm in some places, and that he had received information it was due to a floodbank "valve" not being managed adequately.
The council report said "prolonged flooding and a log holding a stormwater flap gate open" were the main causes of the catchment flooding unexpectedly, and recommended several improvements.
Contacted by the Otago Daily Times on Tuesday, Mr Duffy said he was pleased the council had taken businesses’ concerns seriously, but was not convinced by some of the reasons given in the report.
"I still believe it was a lack of proper oversight of the system that was the main cause."
Demie Contracting owner Colin Dempster said he doubted a log was the cause.
"It’s good that they’ve listened, but this was down to a lack of knowledge of what to do during these events. Hopefully, ‘improving operational procedures’ will include training the council’s new team about what actions to take at the right times to avoid this happening again."
In the report, council deputy chief executive Jules Witt said although pumps were operating, they were "inadequate".
"The Hospital Creek pumps were operating, but the effective pumping rate was inadequate, which could be due to a number of reasons."
The report made several recommendations, which Mr Witt said council staff would review and act upon in the new year.
They included:
• An assessment of the stormwater pump system performance and capacity and consideration of additional remote monitoring.
• Repairs and maintenance to pump flap gates.
• Improved operational procedures and documented checks when flood warnings are issued.
• Develop a flood response plan for the Hospital Creek catchment.
