Drainage Board draws up revised list

Press, 20 February 1986, Page 20

Drainage Board draws up revised list

The Christchurch Drainage Board has drawn up a revised priority list of its projected works and a line-up of work completed since the last review in April, 1985. At the top of the projects sections investigations list is the Styx River catchment investigation. A start on this has been delayed by staff changes, but recommendations are proposed for a management plan drawing on the experience from Heathcote River catchment investigations. The target date for completion is late 1987, which is also the target date for an Avon River catchment investigation. Submissions on the Heathcote River catchment are expected to be considered by the board in April or May this year. The next steps will be to draft the management plan, possibly seek further submissions, and gain the necessary town-planning and water right approval — expected to extend into 1987. Requests for investigation into alternatives to the upper Dudley Creek diversion have set the target date for this project to late this year. The board plans to design a new scheme for the old loop of the Avon River which will improve the area’s apperance and ease tidal flooding and silting. Heading the planning

investigations revised list is the Taylors Mistake sewerage scheme for which a final report is due in March. Another report required for March is for future Fitzgerald Avenue stormwater drainage after the proposed reconstruction of the avenue. Development of the Brooklands - Spencerville area is planned now that the sewerage scheme has been installed. The board will be required to investigate appropriate filling levels for the area in conjunction with the Waimairi District Council, but a date has yet to be set. Low-lying residential

areas in the Bexley area, south of Pages Road, are subject to berm seepage, according to the board’s report “The extent of the problem and possible solutions require investigation,” it says. Regular monitoring of erosion in Mount Pleasant watercourses is another planned investigation. Projects for the more distant future include an upper Avon River weir system. Works completed by the board since the last review include the Brook-lands-Spencerville scheme and the Avon River project at the Town Hall.