The road to Recovery

It’s been six months since a state of emergency was declared on 17 August 2022, after continuous heavy rain caused severe landslips and flooding in the region.

The Nelson City Council Recovery effort remains front of mind, and for affected homeowners the ongoing impacts of the rain are still very visible. We are now at 16 red and 73 yellow placarded properties after seeing another drop over the last three weeks. At the peak (24 August 2022) we had 104 red and 82 yellow.  

For the remainder of our city’s population, it’s easy to forget that there’s a lot of ‘unseen’ work happening all the time, and lots more to be done to repair damage, both in the short- and long-term.

Here’s an update on Council’s to-do list to give you an idea of work we’ve done and what is coming up:

Rivers 

• Four Maitai river swimming holes reopened 
• 18,000m3 of gravel removed
• Debris removal, gravel extraction and bank protection planned this year for the Maitai River, Hillwood Stream, and Jenkins Creek 

Parks 

• Around 200 slips on Council reserves remediated
• 98% of tracks open to the public
• Tamaki steps cleared and open
• Sir Stanley Whitehead track reopened
• Waahi Taakaro golf course temporary footbridge installed
• Waahi Taakaro irrigation system repair/upgrade progressing
• Cycle track base course has been laid
• Pump track – working with contractor as to when repairs can be made 
• Grampians Summit Road main access track slip and culvert damage completed
• Maitai cricket ground reopened following removal of debris and replacement of artificial turf 
• Work is underway on: Maitai Walkway behind Nile Street to golf course, Pipers Track Emano Street and Princes Drive, Kokopu Track (Pipers Reserve), Botanical Hill East Ridge Track, Koata Whetu Track Atmore Reserve, Eureka Park Track, Coppermine Track  
• Work planned to repair bridges: Betsy Eyre bridge (Brook Stream Esplanade), Piwakawaka track bridge (Marsden Valley Reserve), Waahi Taakaro golf course bridge, Groom Creek bridge  

Utilities 

• Stormwater and sewer pipes cleared of debris and gravel
• Maitai raw water pipeline repaired 
• Marsden Valley Pipeline slips removed, protection installed for the duplicate pipeline
• Slip over Aniseed Valley Road repaired and open to 4WD 
• Material removed from Walters Bluff Reserve slip behind reservoir
• Leaks from the event across network resolved
• All stormwater intakes checked and cleared 
• All gravel traps checked and cleared  
• Realignment of 130m wastewater main adjacent to Riverside Pool will start in March 

Roads 

• Devenish Place – temporary reinstatement done 
• Miyazu clean fill stockpile removed
• More than 40 slips affecting Council roads have been attended to – clearing, road repairs and slip remediation 
• Moana Ave remediation works will be in place towards end of April allowing two-way access to all road users 
• Work on Glenduan clean fill stockpile begins early March 
• From July 2023: Devenish Place – entire road reconstruction. Engineering optioneering, design and costings underway for Kokorua Road, Ross Road, Todd Valley, Little Todd Valley, Atmore Terrace, Maori Road, Tamaki Steps, Arrow Street, Zeehan Walkway, Days Track, Maitai valley Road under slip and over slip at Nile Street intersection, Brook Street and Cable Bay