Residents of Westport on the West Coast warned lives could be lost in major flood

Sunday, 26 February 2017

Westport could suffer extensive damage and loss of lives in a major flood event, the West Coast Regional Council has warned.

Lives could be lost and up to $144 million worth of property damaged if a major flood were to hit in a small West Coast town.

The West Coast Regional Council has warned Westport residents a flooded Buller River could cause 'significant damage to property, infrastructure and even threat to life'.

A swollen Buller River, as seen from the Buller bridge west of Westport.

Council chief executive Mike Meehan said the seaside town had very limited flood protection and the cost of damages could be up to to $114 million.

The council sought submissions from Westport residents on a range of flood protection measures. Submissions closed on February 17.

* 'Too expensive' to protect West Coast town from another flood**

The options included doing nothing, building floodwalls, or cutting a new channel from the Orowaiti Lagoon to the sea.

It would cost up to $9.4m to build a series of floodwalls around Westport and nearby Carters Beach, or about $4.2m for a new channel.

'We have put forward some options but nothing is off the table. We want to hear what people have to say. This has been in the pipeline for a long time,' Meehan said.

The Buller Flood Working Group had ruled out dredging the Buller River because the material would be quickly replaced in a flood event. The Buller River had not been dredged since Holcim stopped shipping cement and closed its Westport plant.

Meehan said the council would review the submissions and come up with more detailed costings to put to the community.

The council planned to improve its flood warning system and Civil Defence was developing an evacuation plan for Westport.

Former mayor and 50-year Fire Service veteran Pat O'Dea said the town did not need expensive rock walls.

'The Buller River is one of the biggest rivers in the Southern Hemisphere when in flood and has built up substantially since the 1962 and 1968 earthquakes. We need to continue dredging the river to allow it to flow freely out to sea.'

There was already an overflow channel to divert the Buller River into the Orowaiti River in times of flood, but it was overgrown and had been allowed to fill in, he said.

'The council has been sitting on its hands doing nothing. There doesn't seem to be any effort or urgency.

'When we get a big flood, and these things happen out of the blue, the consequences will be quite serious. It concerns me greatly.'