Urgent action is needed to address the threat of flooding in preparation for future severe weather events striking east Auckland.
That’s the view of Howick ward councillor Sharon Stewart, who’s working to ease the pressure on residents living in flood-prone parts of the area.
The main location of concern is around Angelo Avenue and Willoughby Avenue in Howick.
A public meeting was held on the issue in Howick in 2018 and it’s been a subject of discussion by residents and local elected representatives for years.
Stewart says she used to live in Angelo Avenue and her children used to attend nearby Howick Primary School.
“When we had extreme weather events the water would be up to the letterboxes of some homes in the street.
“It was terrible. The stormwater infrastructure couldn’t cope.”
A large stormwater culvert at the bottom of Freyberg Place, which runs off Angelo Avenue, was overgrown with plant life when the Times visited the site on March 17, which makes it difficult to impossible for water to flow through it during heavy rain.
That results in water overflowing the culvert and flooding nearby homes.
Stewart says she pushed to get a fence installed in front of it as “people could fall in there”.
The culvert on the other side of Freyberg Place is similarly overgrown with plant life.
“About a month ago I rang [Auckland Council’s] Healthy Waters and said this needs to be cleared.
“It’s completely overgrown. It’s on private property and the owners are meant to do it but in the [former] Manukau City Council days they used to have people who would go in and clear it.
“It’s getting too much for a lot of people.”
Stewart describes the Angelo Avenue catchment as a “bottleneck” for Howick.
“It’s really serious and we need to get something sorted here.
“The public needs to be educated that if they have a stream that goes through their property and it’s their stream, they’re supposed to keep it clear.
“The situation in Freyberg Place is a disaster waiting to happen.”
Healthy Waters general manager Craig Mcilroy says the organisation is aware of the issues being reported.
It’s “currently in the process of developing a stream management plan for this catchment area”.
“To date we have identified locations of improvement for both stormwater conveyance and stream bank stabilisation and we are designing solutions for the catchment, targeting culvert upgrades and stream remediation.
“Construction of the first culvert upgrade is almost completed.
“This has involved installing an upsized culvert underneath the Angelo Avenue to Dell Way walkway.”
Mcilroy says Healthy Waters is also undertaking regular maintenance work in the catchment, including clearing culverts, an example of which is recent vegetation clearing of the inlet at Freyberg Place.
“If residents have any concerns around blockages, we encourage them to report them through our online report-a-problem tool, or via our call centre.
“One thing to note is as the stream runs through private property, vegetation maintenance along the stream is the responsibility of the property owner.”
People can report issues to the council on 301 0101.
