Paddy Delaney next to a Donovan Rd culvert that leads to an open drain.
Paddy Delaney next to a Donovan Rd culvert that leads to an open drain.
Paddy Delaney gets a bit nervous when rain starts to get heavy.
His nerves stem from an open culvert and stormwater pipes that run from the Kena Kena shops in Donovan Rd, in Paraparaumu Beach, under Te Kupe Rd and Manly St and into the Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve.
However, it seems the water isn’t getting into the estuary, it’s just sitting in the culvert, he said.
Delaney believed the pipes were blocked, especially at the estuary end, so water is building up, and even a little rain is too much for the culvert to handle.
He dreaded to think of what would happen if there were a huge storm.
“The pipes won’t be able to handle a weather bomb.”
Delaney, who lives in Donovan Rd, said when the culvert got too full it flooded into his and many of his neighbours’ properties.
A waterlogged open drain opposite the Kena Kena shops.
Most of the houses in Donovan Rd were low to the ground, with some sitting at the same height as the culvert, so when it overflowed everyone was affected, he said.
Not only is it affecting locals’ properties, but it’s a safety hazard.
With Kenakena Primary School right across the road, another resident, Graham Brewer, wondered if it was safe.
“Kids could fall into the culvert.”
Delaney and Brewer believed the water in the culvert was about a metre high, and worried about the drowning risk.
The pair will be relieved to learn the issue will be resolved soon.
Kāpiti Coast District Council stormwater and coastal assets project manager Paul Busing said, “We acknowledge residents’ concerns and have a project underway to increase the stormwater network capacity of the Kena Kena catchment area.”
“This is a low-lying built-up catchment area that is serviced by a network of stormwater pipes, pump stations, and culverts.
“The whole of the Kena Kena stormwater catchment currently discharges to the northeast of the Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve to the Waikanae River estuary via a constructed channel just off Manly St.
“Over time material has been deposited in the estuary by tidal flow and river action, which has unfortunately reduced its capacity and causing flooding every time we experience significant rain.”
Busing said the upgrade involved installing a new pump station in Manly St (between 272-274) and upgrading the stormwater network in the area.
Open drain leading towards the Waikanae Estuary Scientific Reserve.
“The pump station will enable water to be discharged under Manley St via new culverts.
“The water collected will discharge to the Kena Kena wetland as it currently does.
“We’ll also increase the size of the culvert that runs under Mazengarb Rd to increase capacity and upgrade some of the stormwater discharge pipes that connect with the channel that discharges to the northeast of the Waikanae Scientific Reserve to the Waikanae River estuary.
“Following consultation and design work, resource consent to do the works has been granted from Greater Wellington.”
He said the council was waiting on final approvals from the Department of Conservation because it also needed to comply with fish passage regulations.
“Construction work is currently scheduled to commence late 2023-early 2024 and we will continue to do what we can to minimise the risk of flooding in the interim.
“This includes carrying out scheduled inspections and maintenance to make sure the watercourse is clear of debris.
“The last lot of maintenance work on this watercourse was carried out in December 2022.”
A DoC spokesperson said, “Kāpiti Coast District Council recently obtained resource consent from Greater Wellington Regional Council to do some work in and around the Kena Kena waterway and entrance to the Waikanae wetland.
“This work includes installing a pump station and numerous other works.
“As part of this consent they needed to consult with iwi and DoC.
