After 20 years of flooding and near misses, Lisa Reweti is stressed out and fed up.
She says the Whanganui District Council is aware of the flood risk to the Putiki community, and has been since 2003. A report commissioned that year confirmed the risks and made recommendations for reducing them.
Lisa lives in her Putiki home with her elderly parents. It was built on a flood plain decades ago, long before climate change was a hot topic. Back then, flooding was blissfully rare — happening about once every 15 years. That's now every five years. And that's major flooding, there have also been numerous near misses.
The worst have been incredibly distressing, leading to major clean outs and ruined carpets and furniture. During one flood, her mother Carolin slipped and broke her hip. When she came out of hospital, the house flooded again and she had to try to evacuate walking with a stick. It's left them anxious and stressed. "We're getting to old for this," Carolin said.
The 2003 report showed that the natural course of the Ngatarua stream was changed to allow for a new road being built that would connect with the state highway. This impacts a creek that runs through the garden of the Rewetis' house.
The bad news is that it overflows too readily. The good news is there are options to stop that from happening, as laid out in the decades-old report.
Lisa contacted Whanganui District Council, Horizons Regional Council and Waka Kotahi again and again. She wanted to know if any plans or recommendations had been carried out. But she said she's been pushed from pillar to post with no one taking ultimate responsibility.
That's when Lisa came to Fair Go, which contacted the three agencies. The agencies wouldn't agree to an interview with the programme but did send statements expressing their awareness of the issue, their empathy for Lisa, and that they would be taking action.
Much to Lisa's surprise, the agencies have been true to their word. A meeting was organised for her with both councils. The hui took place within a week, detailing action that would be immediately taken, such as clearing the sediment from the creek in her garden, assessing the culvert, and funding riparian planting along the creek bank.
Waka Kotahi also came on board, agreeing to regularly clean the culvert and to assess whether it needs to be enlarged, with a decision promised by the end of the month. All the agencies are also looking at longer-term planning and Lisa's been invited to update meetings which will take place every three months.
Lisa told Fair Go she couldn't be more thrilled.
"It's amazing to see what one little push from the right people can do to change our whole situation that's been troubling a lot of people for a very long time."
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