# Flooding, Northwood Boulevard, Northwood, 8051, Canterbury

Northwood, Christchurch · filed 2 June 2019 · report 721144
https://www.chch.live/report/721144

> It should be no surprise why Christchurch is called the Garden City. We have a lot of trees, and unfortunately, most are deciduous. It should also be no surprise that during autumn, or as the Americans would call it, Fall, most of the leaves from these trees will fall. Because so many of these trees line streets and boulevards in Christchurch, the falling leaves land on the roads and end up in the gutters. Also on the “no surprise” list is that weather during autumn is a little less stable, with rain becoming more prevalent. And then, of course, is the final no-brainer. Following autumn is winter! So, we have council-planted deciduous trees all over town, many of broadleafed varieties. Then we have all there broad leaves papering the streets and gutters. Then the rains come, and all of those leaves head to the drains. Because the drain grills are designed to stop small children and their pets from falling in, they also stop the broad leaves from passing through as well. Within minutes of a rain starting, drain covers are blocked, and the water is backing up along the gutter and across the roads. Flooding. Road closures. Abandoned vehicles. Accidents. Council contractors or staff are called out at penalty times and rates to unblock drains and leg traffic flow. I have seen in my area in the past, the public trying to take matters into their own hands. Somebody would lift the grate up onto the verge, so that water would flow away. The obvious stupidity of this ‘Good Samaritan’ was lost on him. Because the drain was still under the water level, it was an open trap for a car wheel or a pedestrian to fall into. On the occasion I saw this, I rang the council to get the grate back where it belongs. But who knows what may have happened. So let’s go back to the beginning: Tree lined streets, a council decision. Deciduous trees, council staff decision. Blockages, council fault. Flooding, council fault. Emergency unblocking fallouts, council cost. My rates are paying for this. Once upon a time, council had a fleet of street sweepers, who would patrol the streets, vacuuming up dry leaves to avert future issues. I haven’t seen one of these trucks in years. So as a result, flooding is regular from mid autumn to mid winter. Just look at the photos taken this morning from my house, after yesterday’s flooding. The most obvious thing is the almost continuous tide mark of leaves, left by the flooding. Why can’t we just bring back the trucks, and send them out before rain is forecast? How hard is that to plan? Do we need to wait until a child disappears into an open drain before the council will change from reactive to proactive with flooding? I don’t want to be the one who says “I told you so”.

*The reporter’s own words, a public report relayed, not verified or endorsed.*

## The council’s work orders, near this pin
- Flooding (Road), 19 m away · resolved 1 Jun 2019, took 7 hours, probably the same job, filed through both doors
- Flooding (Road), 23 m away · resolved 8 Aug 2019, took 10 weeks, probably the same job, filed through both doors
- Litter (Road), 10 m away · resolved 15 Jul 2022, took 26 hours
- Grass, 10 m away · resolved 19 Aug 2022, took 48 hours
- Blockage/Water Not Draining, 10 m away · resolved 12 Oct 2023, took 45 hours
- Manhole, 11 m away · resolved 21 Mar 2022, took 3 days
- Blocked drain pipe or waterway (Road), 12 m away · resolved 17 May 2022, took 24 hours
- Potholes, 12 m away · resolved 16 Aug 2023, took 45 hours
MyCouncilTicket is a different door from the public report, one job can stand in both streams. The whole roll: https://www.chch.live/fixed

The problem: https://www.chch.live/problems/flooding
The street the pin lands nearest: https://www.chch.live/street/northwood/mounter-avenue
The filed address the pin lands 9 m from: https://www.chch.live/northwood/1-mounter-avenue
The suburb: https://www.chch.live/northwood
The attached photograph: https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/snapsendsolve-reports/images/00721144/0
What stood on this ground before: https://www.chch.live/before?lat=-43.46029999929481&lon=172.6206366663863

Data: https://api.chch.live/report?id=721144