Waimakariri Quake Update

As quake recovery work continues, the Waimakariri District Council is gaining an ever clearer picture of the likely repair bill for damaged community buildings, roads, water, sewerage and other infrastructure caused by 7.1 magnitude earthquake of September 4 and subsequent aftershocks.

In some cases, damage to Kaiapoi, Kairaki and Pines Beach is severe.

The council estimates the cost of long term repairs to its infrastructure and community facilities at between $76.6 million and $120 million, to be funded from insurance, government subsidies and contributions, and council loan funding. To date, the council has incurred approximately $1.8 million on emergency response work related to engineering services.

Significant progress has been made to get essential services up and running and clean up the worst affected streets.

“The efforts of volunteers, contractors and other community organisations have been greatly appreciated,” says Waimakariri District Council CEO Jim Palmer.

The focus of recovery work is on helping to support the community, replace damaged infrastructure and community facilities, plan for the restoration of Kaiapoi’s town centre and streamlining the processing of building and other consents.

During the State of Emergency period, which ended on September 16, the council’s Emergency Operations Centre formed the hub of the council’s emergency response. It was supported by numerous council staff, as well as staff from other councils and volunteers and the council’s own Civil Defence team.

“Our investment in Civil Defence training and good team work meant that the operation worked very smoothly. To give a sense of the scale of the activity, they processed and actioned at least 3,000 requests for information or assistance,” says Jim Palmer.

Water was restored to all Kaiapoi, Kairaki and Pines Beach residents by Monday, September 13. The council has since addressed a remaining handful of properties that were still without water.

Residents in Kaiapoi, Kairaki and Pines Beach no longer need to boil their water. The requirement to do so was lifted on September 19.

Progress on restoring sewer services is slower, although the council has made good progress clearing sewer lines of silt. About 80-85% of Kaiapoi has an operational sewer system in place. Some mains are still not functioning. Sewer mains and laterals are being water-blasted to help get them working again.

The council hopes to cease sewage discharge into the Kaiapoi River in the near future, pending the completion of ongoing repair work to key sewerage infrastructure.

Unfortunately, the Pines and Kairaki sewer systems were badly affected and it will be some time before they are operational again, so there will continue to be sewage discharges into associated waterways.

Clearing silt and trying to improve road surfaces in the worst affected streets has been a big job for the council. Clearly, major rebuilds will also be necessary once infrastructure has been replaced.

Good progress has been made on clearing drainage sumps and pipes that closed in as a result of liquefaction.

Council building inspectors have completed over 2,700 assessments. The latest information for commercial and residential buildings is that 96 are red (unsafe), 235 are yellow (restricted access) and 2,416 are green (safe). All red and yellow buildings have been re-inspected and the number of yellow has dropped from the first assessment as issues that affected safety were addressed – eg, a damaged chimney may have triggered an initial yellow assessment, but once removed the assessment changed to green.

“Our assessments do not reflect the level of damage a building has sustained, just whether it is safe to enter and occupy. Many houses assessed as ‘green’ may still have suffered damage that will result in them being written off,” says Jim Palmer.

Following the earthquake, the council had two welfare centres operating: the Kaiapoi Welfare Centre at North Kaiapoi School, which later transferred to the Kaiapoi Rugby Clubrooms; and a centre at the Pines Beach Hall. People were also cared for at the Tuahiwi Marae where up to 50 people were fed and accommodated. These centres provided food, shelter, temporary accommodation and counselling and were mainly manned by volunteers, who did a fantastic job.

The Kaiapoi Welfare Centre has now closed and a Recovery Assistance Centre is operating. This is providing advice, information and assistance on financial matters, accommodation, welfare, food and drinking water and other issues. It is operating from the Kaiapoi Community Centre in Sewell Street.

The Mayoral Relief Fund has made emergency grants available for people in need. Within three days, over 300 people had received assistance and $149,000 had been given out. The Red Cross Canterbury Earthquake Appeal is also available to help and has in excess of $11 million in cash and pledges so far.

In this district, the welfare effort has been assisted greatly by volunteers. Whether neighbours or other residents, the community spirit displayed has been tremendous. The council wishes to acknowledge all the youth volunteers that organised themselves to help property owners clear silt. On one day, 400 volunteers helped out, although most days it was nearer 100.

ENDS

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