Residents in Whanganui suburb Springvale unhappy after flooding strikes again

Yvonne Lane watches as her garage fills with water. Photo / Bevan Conley

Springvale residents want answers after recent downpours in Whanganui caused extensive flooding on their properties.

A total of 54.7 millimetres of rain fell on Friday, February 3, with 31.4mm coming down between 3pm and 4pm.

Yvonne Lane, who lives in Parsons St, said last Friday’s rain caused her garage to fill waist-deep with water, the third time that had happened in the past 10 years.

“I had a ‘lady cave’ down there, but water has come right up to the pool table’s pockets in the past,” she said.

“I’ve lost a washing machine, a deep-freeze full of food, a fridge, the whole bloody lot. Now, I don’t keep anything down there.”

After flooding in 2020, the Whanganui District Council bolted down the utility hole cover outside her house.

“That was great, but it only diverted water further down the street,” Lane said.

“The other covers blew their lids [on February 3] and it all came back and flooded everybody’s properties. The water has to come out somewhere.

“I know a lot of people in Whanganui have had worse flooding than me, and it’s time the council did something about the stormwater infrastructure. It’s just ridiculous.”

The Chronicle has contacted the council for comment.

Lane said she paid around $4000 for rates per year, with others nearby paying $4500.

“The council has got the cheek to put them up even more in Whanganui. They’ll be lucky, I’ll tell you that.”

Last week's flooding has damaged tarmac on the corner of Surrey Rd and Parsons St. Photo / Bevan Conley

Around the corner, Surrey Rd resident Mike Skelsey said previous flooding had also cleaned out his garage, which was “pretty devastating”.

“Last Friday, it was the same again. It all happened so quickly,” Skelsey said.

“After that, I went down to the beach and made up some sandbags in case more rain came.

“When water comes along the gutter and gets to my property, it turns into a whirlpool and heads on down the driveway.”

Lane said the Elsdon Park Wetland in Porirua might be an example of how the issues could be alleviated in Springvale.

“What [Porirua City Council] have done has been amazing. I’ve got family down there, and they’ve said it’s stopped a lot of the flooding.

“I know there are things called stormwater storage pods, as well. Perhaps [the council] could put them along [Springvale] park.

“All the people around here have had a gutsful. I don’t want to sell because I like the area and I like my house. Enough is enough.”

Skelsey said he built a judder bar at the top of his drive to try to deter floodwater, but it had come over the top of it the last two times.

“I’ve never seen the manhole covers bubbling up like that, it was freaky. There must be a lot of pressure for that to happen.”