Westport flood protection plan gets green light with Government funding
Friday, 12 May 2023
The Government will provide $22.9 million to help protect Westport from flooding, but the prime minister warns flood protection alone will “not be enough” to ensure the town's long-term future.
Almost half of the northern West Coast town’s 4500-odd residents had to evacuate their homes during flooding in July 2021, an event that left almost 500 properties swamped. Another heavy rain event in February last year damaged roads, bridges, Westport’s water supply and 70 farms.
The West Coast Regional Council and Buller District Council initially asked the Government for $43.3 million towards its $54m plan (the balance to be paid for by ratepayers) to protect the town from further flooding.
In making the announcement in Westport on Friday, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins acknowledged the money was less than the councils had asked for and that his announcement had taken months longer than promised.
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However, he indicated more funding would be available and the Government had to make sure it was spending money on future-proofed solutions.
”Some of the questions around water infrastructure actually are going to be addressed through other work that the Government is doing … so it’s not absolutely everything but it is a significant step in the right direction.”
The plan includes 18km of flood walls, stormwater upgrades, and $10m to help some Orowaiti River residents on Snodgrass Rd move away from a section of the river where no flood walls would be built. A recent resolution by the regional council forged ahead with some flood wall protection, and included a motion to try to bring Snodgrass Rd into the plan.
Westport man Pete Lusk, who was flooded in July 2021 and evacuated four times in three years, said “anything is better than nothing”.
“It will set things on its way to build a wall and even though I believe the town’s got to be moved eventually to higher ground, it can’t be done overnight.”
How much of the floodwall would be built has yet to be decided by the regional council.
Hipkins said it was crucial for central government to support the community to become more resilient after the “devastating floods”.
“No-one wants to see more families losing their homes or businesses shut down due to flooding.”
Flood protection alone would “not be enough to ensure the long-term future of Westport” though, so the $22.9m had both an immediate and long-term focus, he said.
It included funding for a plan for development and growth in lower-risk areas like Alma Rd, which was on higher ground than much of the town.
“This approach is at the heart the Government’s wider response to improving community resilience and recovering from events such as Cyclone Gabrielle.”
The councils could use the funding to help properties to be more resilient by raising floors.
Hipkins said the Government was prioritising legislation regarding managed retreat, but he ruled out having it ready before this year’s election.
The Government had already given $100m to rebuild damaged infrastructure in Westport, including its wharf and existing flood walls, and to dredge the Buller River.
Buller mayor Jamie Cleine said Friday’s funding announcement gave the community some certainty and was “an excellent start”, which was “much appreciated”.
There was plenty of less risky high ground for future development around Westport and some of the funding would be used to on zoning and planning to accelerate building in areas like Alma Rd.
The site was the “natural progression” and “sensible direction” for the town’s future and was already being used for Government-funded housing.
“This is about properly planning so that it doesn’t become an ad-hoc development that we will later regret… We have an obligation really as a council … to think long-term and intergenerational and that’s probably what’s been lacking.”
Cleine said the flood risk for Westport was the same now as it was in July 2021.
“That’s what’s playing on everybody’s minds. Floods and successive floods build anxiety in the community and that certainly isn’t going away.”
He said he had not been briefed yet on how the funding would be spent to help people build up the floor heights of their homes.
The Buller District Council earlier reversed a decision to require a minimum floor height for new and rebuilt homes after threats of legal action by a group of builders, however its latest district plan – which is being still consulted on – includes some minimum floor heights for flood-prone areas.
Regional council deputy chairperson Brett Cummings said work was already under way on flood walls in some areas of the Buller River, and the funding announcement would “really accelerate that”, however he estimated it would take at least two years for the work to be completed.
It would allow for a flood wall to protect Westport, but decisions were yet to be made on whether Snodgrass Rd would effectively be red-zoned or protected.