Dukes Rd residents continued to push for high-cost flood protection, believing Mosgiel ratepayers should help foot the bill, at the Otago Regional Council's long-term plan hearings yesterday.
The residents fear the council's proposed bund, swale and culvert aimed at protecting about 15 homes from a flooding Silver Stream would exacerbate potential flooding on their properties.
Their concerns led council chairman Stephen Woodhead to offer to meet Dukes Rd residents with the council's engineering and natural hazards director Gavin Palmer, to talk about their concerns and the proposal.
Gary Morton and Lyneta Russell, who own the closest home to the Silver Stream, said the proposal was not the right solution to the flooding risk.
"The box culvert will block with debris as many did in 2006," Mr Morton said.
Their home was uninhabitable for five months after the 2006 floods and if the proposed culvert blocked and water backed up to the bund running across their driveway, the property would flood to a higher level, Mr Morton said.
"Without a bund, the water flows freely across the natural flow path and will disperse quickly."
The option the council should be considering was to have the council purchase their house, just as the council did in the Leith Lindsay situation, or shift the Gordon Rd spillway so it flooded farmland rather than homes, he said.
Ms Russell said the proposal would devalue their property and limit their lifestyle choices.
"I'm optimistic the flood will not happen again. With this plan it's goodbye - we're the sacrificial lambs."
Alex Merrilees said the proposal seemed to be reasonably expensive for what was planned and the "half a million would be better spend removing the gravel and silt out of the Silver Stream".
Jenny Burt and Geoff Thompson said they strongly opposed the bund that would run across the driveway of their "dream" property in which they had lived for a year.
They also believed the bund would increase the flow of water on their property and they would end up "bearing the brunt" of any future flood.
"It'll be a visual eyesore."
The possible impact of the proposal on their insurance premiums was also a worry.
Stormwater run-off from the new subdivisions in Mosgiel would increase the flows in the Silver Stream and could potentially be the tipping point of overflow of the Silver Stream banks.
The couple believed a bank running parallel to the Silver Stream from Gordon Rd and Riccarton Rd would protect both Mosgiel and Dukes Rd, she said.
"We realise the cost involved but shouldn't all contribute to the cost of flood protection?"
When asked by the panel if the realised those works would cost "substantially" more, Ms Burt said it was not just protection for the 20 or so home in the Dukes Rd area but for Mosgiel as well.
Mr Woodhead said during the consenting process the council would have to prove the works would not adversely affect other properties.
Day 2
Where: Otago Regional Council, Dunedin.
Panel: Councillors Duncan Butcher (chair), Gretchen Robertson, Sam Neill, Gerry Eckhoff, Stephen Woodhead, Trevor Kempton and Doug Brown.
20 submitters - 4 by video conference from Queenstown, Alexandra and Oamaru.
Hearing adjourned for panel to deliberate in private.
