South Dunedin residents are still making their minds up about ambitious plans to defend their suburb from the impact of climate change.
People on the streets of South Dunedin yesterday had mixed reactions to the options put forward by the Otago Regional and Dunedin City councils to manage the impact of climate change on the low-lying suburb - which range from boosting flood defences to large-scale relocation of homes and infrastructure.
During last year’s floods, South Dunedin resident Katelyn Wallbank had sewage flowing through her front yard.
"Redirect the budget from doing roadworks in town every f ... ... year to actually fixing the [sewerage] ways."
South Dunedin had a high proportion of low-income people and young families who could not afford to move if the councils opted for managed retreat, she said.
"People who need all the help, who can’t afford to just get left behind or booted out to some other suburb because the council doesn’t want to deal with it properly."
Ashley Brown, of Kuri Bush, said pumping water out of the area would only be a temporary solution.
"Why pump into Forbury Park when it’s a limited area?
"It’s going to be a muck-up."
The council needed to stop consenting buildings in South Dunedin when they knew the risk of floods, he said.
"They just don’t get it.
"It’s easy to sit in the council room and say, ‘this is what we’re doing’."
Mr Brown owned land on the coast and while he had taken measures to prevent erosion, he still lost some of his property during October’s weather event.
A managed retreat was the only option for South Dunedin - using pipes and pumps would be delaying the inevitable.
"You’re always going to get Mother Nature beat you."
One woman thought the councils should focus on establishing draining water rather than move people.
Another said while she did not know what the right option was, she was "feeling very much for the people who are going to be affected".
Many people the Otago Daily Times spoke to did not fully understand the plans, or had not heard of them in the first place.
"There’s a lot to consider," one woman said.
The city council has $44 million in its budget for short and medium-term flood alleviation in South Dunedin.
