Control banks to go ahead

Press, 8 June 1985, Page 9

Control banks to go ahead

Tidal control banks will be built on both banks of the Heathcote River betwen Ferry Road and Opawa Road to reduce tidal flooding in the area. The North Canterbury Catchment Board’s special tribunal has heard and approved the application by the Christchurch Drainage Board for the low-tidal control banks. With the introduction of the Woolston Cut

flood-relief channel further downstream, the banks are regarded as necessary to keep resultant tidal water out of residential properties.

The channel will cut a loop in the Heathcote River and allow more tidal water to flow further up the river. Parts of Clarendon Terrace and Richardson Terrace are already subject to tidal flooding several times a year during higher spring

tides. Drainage Board projections have indicated that if tidal control banks are not built, an area that now floods five times a year could flood eight times a year after the Woolston Cut is built. Public opinion has been opposed to higher banks mainly because of greater visual impact and aesthetic intrusion. The proposed

banks will be built to blend naturally with the river environment.

The tribunal concluded that the banks would have no harmful effect on other water-users. It has also decided that the increased salinity of the river and the possible effects on trees along the banks are the result of the Woolston Cut and not relevant to the application.