Infrastructure is “incredibly boring, until you’re forced to use a portaloo at 3am in the middle of winter”, Masterton councillor and school principal Tim Nelson says.
By Emily Ireland of Local Democracy Reporting
Nelson was told by the council to close Lakeview School on Monday due to mass stormwater infiltration in the surrounding sewer network over the weekend.
He said it was time that his council took a look at its infrastructure investment and ensured “we have our priorities right”.
A month’s worth of rain fell in 24 hours over the weekend in Masterton, flooding low laying areas, inundating streams, and pushing the district’s wastewater infrastructure to its limit.
The Opaki Stream, which runs through Lakeview School, burst its banks and flooded large areas of the school grounds, destroying the school’s bike track and damaging its sports courts.
Masterton District Council said it had taken a precautionary approach in advising the school to close for the day, citing potential contamination of the grounds.
It said wastewater had potentially made its way into the stream which flowed south through Lansdowne, eventually arriving at Henley Lake.
The school grounds were assessed on Monday and the school was told they could reopen on Tuesday.
Henley Lake was also being tested for contamination.
At the height of the heavy rainfall over the weekend, volumes at the Homebush Wastewater Treatment Plant reached 600 litres per second – four times the typical volume.
Masterton District Council group manager of Infrastructure Tyler Ross said portaloos had been set up at 28 homes affected by the storm, with two properties on Kitchener St being subject to internal flooding.
“These have been pumped clear and council officers will undertake a detailed investigation to identify options for additional stormwater management through this area,” he said.
For Lakeview School deputy principal Paul Andersen, his top priority was advocating for the Opaki Stream to be widened at the school so that his 600 students could continue to attend school after heavy rain events.
He also wanted the stream to be able to carry floodwaters in a more controlled way without wreaking havoc on school property.
“The fear is that we know this is going to happen again unless something is done,” he said.
He was arranging a meeting between the school, regional and district council staff, Ministry of Education, and land owners Ngāti Kahungunu to discuss a solution to the water course which was increasingly bursting its banks in heavy rain and destroying school grounds.
School board chair Russell Pickering said they needed to know who was willing to take rapid steps to implement a fix.
“When you’ve got a known problem that is only going to get worse as development happens in town, we can’t just talk about it for years, we have to do something.
“The school can’t close day after day.”
The council’s Three Waters Team has programmed work to begin in Lansdowne, investigating sources of infiltration using CCTV and smoke testing.
They would work with owners to fix problems on their properties as they were discovered.
The council also maintained an ongoing programme of upgrades to improve stormwater run-off and prevent it from getting into the sewer.
Ross said the work over the weekend was a real team effort.
Council staff and contractors were onsite throughout the severe rain event, closing flooded roads, monitoring pump stations, and clearing debris.
“We couldn’t have done it without the help of City Care, FENZ and Traffic Protect who worked through the night to evacuate residents, direct traffic, and help people impacted by the storm,” Ross said.
– Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
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