Urgent talks on Halswell problem

Press, 20 July 1977, Page 6

Urgent talks on Halswell problem

Halswell River stormwater problems which threaten to disrupt industrial and residential developments in Paparua County will be the subject of urgent meetings next week.

The Christchurch Drainage, Board, North Canterbury! Catchment Board, and Papatua County Council will be, involved in the meetings. They will try to come to! trips with a recent Regional' Water Board tribunal decision that said a Drainage Board stormwater discharge, right from the Shands RoadHalswell Junction Road area; should not be granted be-, cause the Upper Halswell, was not able to take the!

uwater without making flood-, r iing problems worse. I A Catchment Board meeting on July 26 will outline, ‘ progress on design criteria! for improving the river sys-l i.tern. It has been estimated; that it could cost S2M for a! ■!complete flood relief scheme,' • but a cheaper interim solu-i i|tion might be found A 1954 report on drainage, i, improvements was rejected, by ratepayers in 1956 be-1 /cause they considered it too; II expensive.

Although the Drainage Board is appealing the tribunal decision through the ■ Town and Country Planning (Appeals Board, it is also /looking at the long-range relief scheme. Board officers have reported that a stormwater dis- ( posal system for the area had been planned since 1973, but i the Catchment Board had /never opposed it. Neither had I they made drainage officers ; aware of the flooding problems. There is no other practical place to put the stormwater, according to the Drainage Board. A capital works improvement programme rests with the reaction of farmers in a future poll, if that action is sought again by the Catchment Board. In the meantime, the Drain- : age Board started a stormwater cost-sharing area in 1974, and now faces the possibility of having to pay money back if there is no start on an outfall. ! If a poll again rejected a I flood relief project, the ( Drainage Board would have (to tell Paparua County to (stop all subdivision planning I in the catchment. ' Land already being developed would have to rely on! (soak pits to get rid of their I stormwater. The board has (opposed that as being unsatI isfactory. Other subdivisions are also (in jeopardy, including a zone j in Halswell where about 60ha (will be developed for housing. I Subdivisions in the HalsI well Junction Road area have (reached the stage of having l contracts of sale entered into , for some properties. It is (understood that a permit has I been issued for a large in--1 Austria! building on one lot.