By Kira Carrington, Local Democracy Reporter
The entrance to Spring Creek School was under water. Photo: LDR/Kira Carrington
A Spring Creek couple evacuated from their home due to Friday's flooding say they're "pissed off" with the Marlborough District Council's lack of action around flood protection work.
Residents from certain Spring Creek streets were asked to evacuate on Friday morning as a precaution, as the Marlborough region was battered by rain overnight Thursday.
There was 245mm received at Rai Falls and other areas around the district receiving more than 100mm.
On Friday morning, Marlborough Emergency Management controller Richard MacNamara said there was uncertainty around how long the heavy rain would last.
"The modelling shows some lessening of impact but with the stop bank in Spring Creek being compromised we will be proceeding with plans for people in the affected streets to be evacuated by 9am," MacNamara said in a council-issued statement.
"It's not only the level of flood waters we are considering but the unseen damage within that stop bank. We have to make proactive decisions - it's about caring for our community and preventing possible harm."
The affected properties were in Dodson, Hathaway, and March streets, as well as the section of Ferry Rd from the intersection with March St towards the river as well as residential properties on Gouland Road north of March St.
Hathaway St resident Susan Robertson said she was "thoroughly pissed off with the council".
"How many years have they known about this?," she said of the stopbank issue.
The Spring Creek stopbank experienced lateral spread in the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake and was further damaged in the July 2021 Wairau flood.
In January 2023, the repair project was reprioritised and funding was secured through the Long-Term Plan process.
A $8.7M construction programme was agreed with the community in May 2024, with groundwork expected to start in November this year before construction was carried out in November 2026, MDC said.
But this was too long a wait, Robertson said.
"It's not good enough. If a councillor lived down here, the mayor lived out here, it would be done.
"They don't give us stuff. All they care about is beautifying Picton and central Blenheim. That's all they care about. They don't give a stuff about us."
Marlborough Emergency Management began door knocking at affected properties in Spring Creek on Thursday night and continued that work on Friday morning.
There was also a police and NZ Army presence in the township on Friday, as a number of streets were under water and the Wairau River was in flood.
A Civil Defence Centre providing community support and information was opened at Stadium 2000 in Blenheim from 9am and hot drinks and kai were being offered at Tuamātene Marae.
Ready to help at the stadium, from left, public health medicine specialist Dr Kat McHale, health protection officer Frances Knight, and public health co-ordinator Paula Kole. Photo: LDR
Councillor Gerald Hope was heading down to the stadium on Friday morning. The council was moving as fast as it could on stopbank repairs, he said.
"It's not as simple as moving tons of rocks in.
"We've had good turnout at town meetings, people have asked questions. We've been straight up with residents about what's going on.
"Our civil defence group is one of the best in the country."
Staff from Nelson Marlborough's Public Health Service were also at the stadium to support Civil Defence staff.
Public health co-ordinator Paula Kole said there was plenty of coffee and tea available for evacuees.
"We have an animal welfare station, first aid, an area for the children, and over there [behind screens] is for needs-based assessment."
A council spokesperson said in the past, Spring Creek residents tended to evacuate to the homes of friends and family, so they were not expecting large numbers of people, and the evacuation centre was "just in case".
In its statement, the council asked those evacuating to take their pets with them, ideally in carry cages and or on leads to a safe place.
Marlborough Emergency Management group manager Mark Kerr said the team was closely monitoring the situation.
Volunteers and council staff were working together with agencies such as Hato Hone St John, police, Fire and Emergency NZ, Marlborough Roads, Marlborough District Council, and an iwi liaison, at the Civil
Defence emergency co-ordination centre on Wither Rd in Blenheim.
"There's a lot of inter-agency co-ordination," Kerr said. "So we've got information coming in from their respective sources. All that sort of information is being fused here in this building."
A rivers manager and a hydrologist were out in the field, monitoring the river banks around Marlborough.
"[That] basically fuses the science and the weather forecasts and coming in, the flow predictions down the river.
"And that is then weighed up against the performance of the river management system, such as the stop banks.
"They've been absolutely integral in the response."
Kerr said it was too soon to determine if the Spring Creek stop banks would hold.
"It's really hard to determine that in black and white, and that's why we'll take a reason-based approach. So we have been cautious and pre-emptive.
"Frankly, we just don't know how it will perform and nor do we know exactly what the river levels and river loads on that stop will be.
"That's one of the fundamental reasons we activated early, because we knew that it was a risk that had to be addressed."
Defence Force personnel in Spring Creek. Photo: LDR/Kira Carrington
Meanwhile, the heavy rain has seen considerable surface flooding throughout the region - including State Highway 6 at Havelock, State Highway 63 in the Wairau Valley, and State Highway 1 near Koromiko, the council said.
Road users were advised to avoid travel if possible but they need to drive do so with caution and to the conditions.
SH63 was closed from Anglesea St through to St Arnaud due to multiple areas of flooding.
There is flooding on SH1 near Para Rd. There has been a truck crash on SH1 near Ward, the road is down to one lane. There are trees down on Queen Charlotte Drive between Ngakuta and Governors Bay and the road is down to one lane, the council said.
Marlborough Roads crew were out across the network inspecting flood areas this morning. Drivers were advised to prepare for road hazards and the possibility of road closures.
With stormwater systems running at capacity, the council also advised people not to go near any flood waters in the region due to risk of contamination. People should also stay off stop banks in the area, particularly in vehicles, as this can compromise their effectiveness, the council said.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
