UPDATE: Flooding event in Carterton

UPDATE: WEDNESDAY 23 FEBRUARY

While the water at our wastewater treatment plant is still higher than it would normally be, the inflows are now at a level that we can lift any restrictions.

WHAT THIS MEANS
All toilet flushing, washing machine usage, showers, dishwashing and discharging greywater to our wastewater system can now resume as usual.

NEXT STEPS

We acknowledge there are still a handful of residents who are still experiencing issues at their properties following the 12 February flooding event. We really appreciate their patience and cooperation through this time and we will continue to work with them directly. We ask that people still please continue to let us know about areas of concern by placing a service request either online at https://cdc.govt.nz/service-request/ or by calling 06 379 4030.

We have identified a potential area in the network where the flows are coming in from. Now that the water levels have dropped low enough, we have been able to begin our investigation into the suspected inflow areas with CCTV.

We will move onto a clean-up phase, addressing the high priority areas first which have been identified through the service requests people have lodged with us in the last 11 days.

We wish to thank all residents for their patience and understanding over this challenging time.

A full public report on the flooding response will be made available at online from Friday 1 April as part of the Infrastructure and Services Committee on 6 April 2022 agenda.

UPDATE: MONDAY 21 FEBRUARY
NEXT UPDATE: WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY by 5pm

SITUATION

A big thank you again to everyone who helped us reduce wastewater through our system over the weekend.

The good news: We have identified a potential area in the network where the flows are coming in from. As the water level drops in this dry weather, we will be able to get cameras in there to investigate further.

The not so good news: The weekend rain has set us back a little so inflows remain above what we can discharge. There are still a couple of man-hole covers in the reticulated network still overflowing, which indicates a lot of pressure / excess water in the system. These are being cordoned off and clean up will be undertaken once the flows stop

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU
You can still happily flush your loo
We are asking you still please MINIMISE the discharge of greywater into the wastewater system, as we are expecting more rain over the weekend.
THIS MEANS:
You CAN use your washing machine, BUT please try to minimise your use to only when needed.
You CAN take showers, BUT please try to keep them as short as possible.
Please also be mindful with activities such as washing dishes and washing cars – please keep this to a minimum.

Please continue to let us know about areas of concern by placing a service request either online at https://cdc.govt.nz/service-request/ or by calling 06 379 4030.

UPDATE: FRIDAY 18 FEBRUARY
NEXT UPDATE: MONDAY 21 FEBRUARY by 5pm

SITUATION

The wastewater level has dropped a little, thanks to dry weather and the fantastic effort from our community, but inflows remain above what we can discharge.  There are a few man-hole covers in the reticulated network which are still overflowing, which indicates a lot of pressure / excess water in the system.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU

You can now happily flush your loo 😊

We are asking you still please MINIMISE the discharge of greywater into the wastewater system, as we are expecting more rain over the weekend.

THIS MEANS:
You CAN use your washing machine, BUT please try to minimise your use to only when needed.

You CAN take showers, BUT please try to keep them as short as possible.

Please also be mindful with activities such as washing dishes and washing cars – please keep this to a minimum.

Please continue to let us know about areas of concern by placing a service request either online at  https://cdc.govt.nz/service-request/ or by calling 06 379 4030.

NEXT STEPS AND GOOD NEWS

Greater Wellington Regional Council has granted us permission to increase our discharge flows during this time to 148 litres per second.  This will continue over the weekend.

Rainfall forecasts are for light rain especially on Saturday and we are hoping this will not cause too many issues on top of what we are already dealing with.

Because you are now able to flush your toilet, we will reopen the public toilets and remove the portaloos.

The flow and inundation investigations continue and as mentioned earlier in the week have identified an area of interest, which we will explore further once flows reduce.

The team are working hard on dealing with the excess flows and cleaning up the roads and properties when the flows reduce. Massive shout out to our staff members who are out there cleaning up some not-so-nice messes for our community.

We are very thankful to everyone who has helped us get through last weekend’s events – from emergency services, to residents, community groups, council staff, elected members, portaloo providers, businesses and schools. It really has been a community effort and shows how we can pull together when there’s an emergency.

UPDATE: WEDNESDAY 16 FEBRUARY

NEXT UPDATE: FRIDAY 18 FEBRUARY by 5pm

Teams yesterday worked backwards in the network to trace the source of high in-flows. We have identified an area of interest (six blocks in total) where high flows remain and will investigate this further when the network flows reduce.

Thank you once more for responding to our requests for help.

We greatly appreciate everyone’s patience while we deal with this situation.

CURRENT SITUATION

The water levels at the wastewater treatment plant remain high and taking longer to subside than expected.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU

Please continue MINIMISING TOILET FLUSHING, showers and washing machine usage where possible to help reduce the flows into our wastewater treatment plant.

THIS MEANS:

• You CAN flush your toilet, BUT only when necessary.
• You CAN take showers, BUT please keep them as short as possible.
• You CAN use your washing machine, BUT only if it’s urgent.
• We expect we will be able to lift these restrictions by the weekend, however we will confirm this on FRIDAY 18 FEBRUARY by 5pm.

OTHER ACTIONS

We are reducing the level of our wastewater reservoirs, however, we can only discharge as fast as the UV treatment allows. We anticipate additional capacity from the first new Dalefield pond being available for storage at the end of next week.

The weather forecast is looking okay for the next few days, which will help with the water levels.

Part of the work we’re doing is making sure we maintain hygiene without adding extra greywater to the system. We will do a full flush once water levels are low enough.

We know you have been asking about whether we can discharge some of the water to the new ponds and whether they will be in a better position to cope with this type of extreme weather event once they are operational.

The first of the new ponds will be open by the end of this month but is not quite ready for us to discharge water to right now. Later in the year, we will also have an upgraded UV system which will give us the ability to discharge more water.

MANHOLE COVERS

We are aware of a few manhole covers with sewage overflowing. The water should stop flowing as the levels drop at the treatment plant. However, PLEASE REPORT THESE TO COUNCIL by calling 06 379 4030 or filling out a service request. In some instances we are able to chemical dose and clean down the area with super-chlorinated water, however, we need the water to stop flowing out the manhole cover first.
Once it stops we can attend to it as a high priority.

PORTALOOS

More portable toilets have been set up around Carterton. These will be available until Friday at the following locations:

• Bird’s Park: Two [one at each entrance, to Frederick St and Charles St]
• Memorial Square: Two
• Moreton Rd Reserve
• South End Park
• Carrington Park: Four
• Sparks Park
• Clareville Cemetery

UPDATE: 5pm, Monday 14 February

NEXT UPDATE: Midday Wednesday 16 February

 

Current situation

The water levels at the wastewater treatment plant are still very high and taking longer to subside than expected. We are reducing the level of our wastewater reservoirs, however, we can only discharge as fast as the UV treatment allows. After observing flows today, we now expect the backlog of water to take several days to subside. We anticipate additional capacity from the first new Dalefield pond being available for storage at the end of next week.

Manhole covers

We are aware of a few manhole covers with sewage overflowing. The water should stop flowing as the levels drop at the treatment plant. However, PLEASE REPORT THESE TO COUNCIL by calling 06 379 4030 or filling out a service request here. In some instances we are able to chemical dose and clean down the area with super-chlorinated water, however, we need the water to stop flowing out the manhole cover first. Once it stops we can attend to it as a high priority.

What we need from you

Please continue MINIMISING TOILET FLUSHING, showers, and washing machine usage where possible to help reduce the flows into our wastewater treatment plant. This means:

• You CAN flush your toilet, BUT only when necessary.
• You CAN take showers, BUT please keep them as short as possible.
• You CAN use your washing machine, BUT only if it’s urgent.

Portaloos

We are working hard to get the network back to normal and to put measures in place in the meantime. We will have 2 additional portaloos and 2 Little Green Dunny toilets from tomorrow afternoon at the following locations:

• South End Park
• Moreton Road Reserve
• Memorial Square

This is in addition to the 2 existing toilets at Carrington Park. We will continue to source more portaloos as they become available.

The weather forecast is looking okay for the next few days, which will help with the water levels.Part of the work we’re doing is making sure we maintain hygiene without adding extra greywater to the system. We will do a full flush once water levels are low enough.

We know you have been asking about whether we can discharge some of the water to the new ponds and whether they will be in a better position to cope with this type of extreme weather event once they are operational. The first of the new ponds will be open by the end of this month, but is not quite ready for us to discharge water to right now. Later in the year we will also have an upgraded UV system which will give us the ability to discharge up to 300 litres per second (a much greater capacity and match inflow than the current system).

How can I stay up to date?

• Like and follow our Facebook page @cartertondistrictcouncil
• Check the home page of our website.
• Listen for updates on local radio More FM 89.5FM
• Subscribe to our email list www.cdc.govt.nz/newsletter
• Please keep in contact with friends, whānau and elderly neighbours who may not be as connected.