Latest news with #SouthDunedinFuture
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Climate change response timeframe at odds with visions
Responding to climate change risks in South Dunedin needs to happen much sooner than the 75-year visions promoted for the suburb earlier this year if government buyouts of property are to be involved, a new report suggests. An independent reference group established by the Ministry for the Environment advised the government this week to take decisions with urgency so climate adaptation approaches could be "fully in place" by 2045. That timeline appears at odds with the multibillion-dollar visions for 2100 unveiled by the joint Dunedin City Council-Otago Regional Council South Dunedin Future programme earlier this year. The reference group's report — "A proposed approach for New Zealand's adaptation framework" — was silent on "proactive buyouts", but said any expectation of the government stepping in to buy out properties should end in 20 years' time. South Dunedin Future programme manager Jonathan Rowe said it was not clear how the reference group's proposed 20-year transition period would work. "It's not clear how the proposed transition period and 'no buyouts beyond 2045' would work in practice," Mr Rowe said. "This approach would appear to constrain options for adapting to climate change over the long term. "That said, the report acknowledges that there is no 'right' answer to how long a transition should take. "A transition period of more than 20 years would likely be required to enable the types of changes envisaged for South Dunedin." Along with proactive buyouts the report did not address "urban regeneration", an approach that aimed to provide a vision of a "safer and better" future for areas in the firing line of the consequences of climate change, Mr Rowe said. Urban regeneration included creating new housing and urban developments that offered commercial returns and attracted private investment, he said. Still, Mr Rowe welcomed the reference group's report and said the work represented a step towards long-awaited legislation and regulations on climate adaptation. Many of the actions noted in the report, particularly around gathering and communicating information about climate change-related risks, and council planning, were already under way for South Dunedin, and across Dunedin, Mr Rowe said. Further, he welcomed the "broad interpretation" of the reference group's proposed "beneficiary pays" approach to climate adaptation work, saying effective adaptation would typically benefit the government, councils, property owners and others. "At the same time, it's important to recognise that many stakeholders will be impacted by climate change through little or no fault of their own, and some will also lack the ability to pay," he said. "The government's adaptation framework will need to balance these trade-offs, providing clear and consistent national guidance while retaining flexibility for local decision-making and implementation." The reference group said due to the "place-based" nature of climate change risks, planning for climate adaptation should be done by local councils. But it noted local government faced funding challenges and said there was evidence of "underinvestment" in New Zealand. "People and markets should adjust to a changing climate over time," the report said. "This means that people should be responsible for knowing their risks and making their own decisions on whether to stay in a high-risk area or move away." The group said there was at present an expectation central and local government would step in to cover costs for individual homeowners, despite there being no legal or policy framework to require or guide these decisions. "In the past, local and central government have offered buyouts of up to the full value of properties affected by natural hazards. "These decisions reduce incentives for people to understand and manage their own risk, can distort property prices and have given rise to an expectation that buyouts will continue, creating a moral hazard."
Otago Daily Times
09-06-2025
- Climate
- Otago Daily Times
South D waiting for stormwater justice
Julian Doorey has a message for the Dunedin City Council. Dear Mayor, councillors, and senior staff, This week marks 10 years since the devastating South Dunedin floods of June 2015. For many, this was a turning point. Homes and businesses were flooded, the community was shaken, and residents were promised action. Ten years on, South Dunedin is still waiting, remaining at risk and stigmatised. Despite a decade of meetings, submissions and plans, no physical stormwater flood prevention works have occurred in South Dunedin. Not one metre of new stormwater pipe, or one new pump has been installed. And yet we have had two major floods — in 2015 and again in 2024 — each initiated by rainfall intensities of only 8mm per hour, well below the national design standard for Dunedin of 18mm per hour for a one-in-10-year event. The Dunedin City Council has never stated in any public consultation that flooding is due to an undersized stormwater system, for which it is responsible. Rather, since the 2015 flood, DCC has explained recent flooding as somehow climate change related. While climate change is likely to be a future issue, there is no evidence this has caused flooding over the last 60 years, since the current stormwater system set-up began with the new pumping station in 1964. There has seemed to be an ideological resistance to engineered solutions to keep South Dunedin dry. In fact, a previous headline stated, "South Dunedin: Poster child for managed retreat". Prior to the climate change narrative, DCC commissioned several engineering reports. These provided very high quality, workable, conventional, engineered solutions which could (1) solve the current stormwater flooding problem (Opus 2017 report — generally pipes and pumps) and (2) manage the impact of slowly rising sea-level on groundwater as needed in future (Beca 2014 report — dewatering at the sea boundary). Unfortunately, these engineering solutions were never implemented. About 2018, DCC switched to a longer-term climate change investigation programme, supported by the Otago Regional Council, called South Dunedin Future. This has produced potentially useful scenarios for 2100. However, it has also resulted in the community enduring a kind of climate change analysis/paralysis, resulting in no actual stormwater flood prevention work. Sadly, this was a contributing factor to the recent October 2024 flooding. The situation in Surrey St is especially shameful. During both the 2015 and 2024 floods, raw sewage, under pressure, popped the manhole lids, resulting in sewage overflowing into the street and properties. Some houses in wider South Dunedin received contaminated water inside, becoming uninhabitable. This has nothing to do with climate change, and everything to do with wastewater being diverted from the Kaikorai Valley and western-facing suburbs, including parts of Mornington, Kenmure, Belleknowes, Roslyn and Māori Hill. These overflows occur every two or three years during heavy rainfall, creating environmental hazards and serious health risks. Why should South Dunedin be flooded with other people's sewage? This must stop. This letter is a simple call for stormwater justice for the 13,000 people in 5000 houses who call South Dunedin home and the hundreds of businesses — all ratepayers like everyone else. Unfairly, they have been left with the social, economic and emotional or psychological issues associated with flood risk or loss of home value. This letter is not about climate change denial. It is a call to stop using climate change uncertainties as an excuse to delay upgrading stormwater infrastructure which has been undersized for decades. Long-term climate resilience requires engineered solutions for current stormwater failures — now. Affordable engineered solutions exist — now. We call on DCC councillors who are standing for re-election this year to state clearly and publicly where they stand with respect to solving the South Dunedin flood risk. Will you commit to starting urgent, staged, engineered flood prevention works — beginning with pipes and pumps — to make South Dunedin flood-free within five years, and to stop the Surrey St wastewater sewage overflows within 12 months? The time for plans without action is over. The time for promises without pipes is over. ■Julian Doorey is a representative of the South Dunedin Stormwater Justice Group.
Otago Daily Times
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Real solutions before ‘saving the world'
Flooded streets in South Dunedin and Bathgate Park in June 2015. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY South Dunedin stormwater issues should be sorted out "before we embark on saving the world", a mayoralty candidate says. However, a city councillor argues shaping a climate-resilient future need not get in the way of local solutions. The differing perspectives came from Cr Steve Walker and Future Dunedin political ticket leader and mayoralty hopeful Andrew Simms, while Crs Sophie Barker and Lee Vandervis — another mayoralty candidate — also weighed in. Mr Simms noted it had been 10 years since a large flood in South Dunedin, and he lamented lack of progress in implementing key recommendations from a 2017 report by Opus about stormwater. The South Dunedin Future programme was set up by the Dunedin City Council and the Otago Regional Council after the flooding and it is principally about responding to climate change and natural hazards through a long-term plan under development. Mr Simms characterised the programme as offering "a long-term, billion-dollar response to gradual sea-level rise and climate change". "But the Opus report focuses on what South Dunedin urgently needs right now: practical, immediate solutions to mitigate flooding caused by an overwhelmed drainage system." Future Dunedin would advocate for Opus to update its proposals for the council, "to ensure decisions are grounded in sound engineering, not just long-term vision", Mr Simms said. He and Future Dunedin council candidate Conrad Stedman had talked to stormwater engineers and South Dunedin residents and "listened to longtime Surrey St residents whose showers back up with sewage during heavy rain". "We acknowledge the challenges of climate change, but Dunedin ratepayers' money should be spent firstly on solving Dunedin's problems, before we embark on saving the world." Cr Walker took issue with the way Mr Simms had framed matters, describing some aspects as misleading. The city council had directed money to immediate issues faced by South Dunedin and there was no agenda to prioritise international climate goals at the expense of local resilience, he said. Cr Walker said work could be done to deal with immediate problems for low-lying communities and shaping a climate-resilient future — "one doesn't have to come at the expense of the other". "While short-term, temporary fixes may look politically attractive, we should caution against knee-jerk reactions if it puts at risk, financially impinges on, or delays the longer-term planning identified in the excellent [South Dunedin Future] programme." Cr Barker said Future Dunedin's position was not greatly at odds with the council's. "While we need to look at the long term and our climate adaptation work, we also need action now to stop people's homes flooding and minimise damage," she said. Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich particularly pushed for a multimillion-dollar package for immediate mitigation and the council voted this year in support of it. Cr Vandervis said sewage erupting in Surrey St without a fix was unforgivable. However, northern parts of the city should not be forgotten and flooding there had historically been more damaging, he said. "Flood events in Dunedin can never be entirely controlled, but having a historically informed overview of all Dunedin flood vulnerability should spread limited resources proportionately to protect the majority of Dunedin residents and businesses."
Scoop
09-05-2025
- Climate
- Scoop
Stormwater 2025: Tackling Flooding And Storms To Build A Climate-Resilient Future
Press Release – Water New Zealand The conference starts on Tuesday, 13 May, with pre-conference workshops on Monday 12 May. Protecting communities from flooding and ensuring a sustainable and climate resilient water future will be a key focus at a major stormwater conference in Rotorua next week. The Water New Zealand Stormwater Conference and Expo 2025 brings together more than 500 delegates, presenters and exhibitors from across Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally to discuss latest challenges and solutions to stormwater management. 'We have major challenges ahead and we need innovative and affordable solutions to address the growing risk of more intense rainfall events and flooding, says Water New Zealand chief executive Gillian Blythe. Keynote speakers at the conference include Climate Change and Local Government Minister, Simon Watts, Insurance Council chief executive Chris Faafoi and the programme manager for South Dunedin Future, Jonathan Rowe, who's heading an adaptation plan for low lying and flood affected South Dunedin. Other keynote speakers are: Nicki Green – Thames Coromandel District Council, Shari Gallop – PDP and University of Waikato, Mike Adams – Stantec USA, Allan Leahy – Auckland Council. The conference will also showcase collaborative bicultural stormwater management solutions between councils, communities and iwi. 'We need to ensure all communities, including hapu and iwi, work together to ensure we're adopting the best of international knowledge and home-grown solutions. 'We know we can't just hard engineer, or pipe our way, out of many of the problems facing us. 'That's why stormwater management is increasing about adopting nature-based and water sensitive urban design solutions as well as traditional piped networks.' The conference starts on Tuesday, 13 May, with pre-conference workshops on Monday 12 May.
Scoop
08-05-2025
- Climate
- Scoop
Stormwater 2025: Tackling Flooding And Storms To Build A Climate-Resilient Future
Protecting communities from flooding and ensuring a sustainable and climate resilient water future will be a key focus at a major stormwater conference in Rotorua next week. The Water New Zealand Stormwater Conference and Expo 2025 brings together more than 500 delegates, presenters and exhibitors from across Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally to discuss latest challenges and solutions to stormwater management. 'We have major challenges ahead and we need innovative and affordable solutions to address the growing risk of more intense rainfall events and flooding, says Water New Zealand chief executive Gillian Blythe. Keynote speakers at the conference include Climate Change and Local Government Minister, Simon Watts, Insurance Council chief executive Chris Faafoi and the programme manager for South Dunedin Future, Jonathan Rowe, who's heading an adaptation plan for low lying and flood affected South Dunedin. Other keynote speakers are: Nicki Green – Thames Coromandel District Council, Shari Gallop – PDP and University of Waikato, Mike Adams – Stantec USA, Allan Leahy – Auckland Council. The conference will also showcase collaborative bicultural stormwater management solutions between councils, communities and iwi. 'We need to ensure all communities, including hapu and iwi, work together to ensure we're adopting the best of international knowledge and home-grown solutions. 'We know we can't just hard engineer, or pipe our way, out of many of the problems facing us. 'That's why stormwater management is increasing about adopting nature-based and water sensitive urban design solutions as well as traditional piped networks.' The conference starts on Tuesday, 13 May, with pre-conference workshops on Monday 12 May.
