Debris on the Rangitopuni Stream in the rural Auckland community of Coatesville. Photo: RNZ / Rayssa Almeida
Debris on the Rangitopuni Stream in the rural Auckland community of Coatesville.
Residents in the rural Auckland community of Coatesville are worried a stream blocked with storm debris could spark a disaster.
During the 27 January floods, a major slip brought down dozens of trees, blocking the Rangitopuni Stream that flows behind most properties in the area.
Chris Rutter has lived in Sunnyside Road for six years and helped rescue people stranded in the region during the recent weather events.
The community was worried heavy rains could trigger flash flooding if the stream continued to back up, he said.
"When we get these flood situations, we end up with three to four metres of water across the road and part of that problem is the number of trees that have fallen into the Rangitopuni Stream and haven't been dealt with."
Residents had been waiting over a month for the council to remove the debris, which had got worse after Cyclone Gabrielle, Rutter said.
He said just around his place, he knew of six or seven big trees that had been sitting in the river that were just waiting to be washed away.
"And that's the reason that the Mill Flat Road bridge got swept away in the January floods, due to all the debris in the river, and someone needs to do something about that."
At the sight of rain, residents started panicking, Rutter said.
"Everyone looks at the sky and starts wondering if it's going to keep going. And if it does, then we start making plans because we all get cut off."
When the region flooded, both sides of Sunnyside Road were affected, he said. "At their peak, the roads would be four metres under water."
Terrieann Dean has lived in Robinson Road for over a year and has had her property flooded twice. The major slip is located just across the river, at the back of her house.
"As soon as it starts raining, I feel sick," she said.
"Because everything is so wet, trees are just falling over. And because we are surrounded by big trees they are literally just waiting to slide down in the next opportunity."
The community feared a tragedy approaching around the corner, Dean said.
"Water that is just sitting there could just break the side of the slip at any time, which could be disastrous, because it will be going straight to a main road.
"When I go down there, I just have this dreadful gut feeling that it is a disaster waiting to happen," she said.
Terrieann Dean has lived in Robinson Road for over a year and has had her property flooded twice. Photo: Supplied / Terrieann Dean
Dean said she got in contact with the council and a stormwater engineer came to look at the slip, but nothing was done about it.
"I think it would be totally irresponsible not to do anything about it, because if the slip comes down or the water overflow in the next rainy day, people can and will die.
"That is the worst scenario, but it's a likely one."
Murray Robertson lives next door to Dean, and had his property flooded three times in less than two months.
"Every time it has flooded, we get locked in. There's no way through the forest and there's no way out through the flooded area."
Even a small amount of rain posed risk, he said.
"It won't take much rain to flood the whole area again because of the amount of blockage in the end of that stream," he said.
"The water will fill up extremely quickly and it will have nowhere else to go apart from over our land and falls out over the road, it's the only path it can take."
The community was frustrated, Robertson said.
"Unless they [Auckland Council] attend to the slip and unblock the stream, then nothing is going to change, and we will keep getting flooded.
"It's frustrating, it's as simple as that," he said.
Rutter said Auckland Council should be proactive about the potential risks.
"The council has so many things to deal with, because of all the floods, but it might take some lives to be lost before someone wakes up to it and puts some money on it.
"If we don't do anything about the number of debris building up on the stream, it could be catastrophic. It could end easily in a lot of people losing their lives," he said.
The Rodney Local Board is the responsible for Coatesville area.
Deputy chairperson Louise Johnston said there were two slips blocking the stream along Sunnyside Road and she was waiting to hear back from Healthy Waters department regarding timing of clearance.
"Unfortunately, there are hundreds of reported stream blockages across Auckland and many of them are quite complex," she said.
"Even the remains of the old Mill Flat Road bridge that was washed away during the [Auckland] Anniversary weekend flooding is still in the Rangitopuni [Stream]."
The stream was prone to flooding at Sunnyside Road and these slips needed to be given immediate priority as they were creating dams, Johnston said.
"Council are doing drone surveys of the Rangitopuni Stream but I urge residents to check their streams and if they can't remove debris themselves to please contact council immediately via the call centre."
Auckland Council has been approached for comment.