Council agrees to fast-track dredging work

Work on dredging a 700-metre stretch of the Heathcote River between Radley Street and the Woolston Cut will be brought forward.

Christchurch City Council agreed today to fast-track the dredging work to help reduce the flood risk in the area.

The Council is pushing ahead with plans to dredge the Heathcote River.

The dredging will cost an estimated $3 million and will get under way in the next few months, once the necessary consents have been obtained.

“Hydraulic modelling has demonstrated that flooding upstream of Radley Street is caused in part by the inadequate capacity of the channel to convey flood flows to the Woolston Cut and out to the estuary,’’ says Council Land Drainage Manager Keith Davison.

“Over the years a considerable amount of silt has built up in the river so we’re planning to dredge it in three stages, starting with the stretch of the river between Radley Street and the Woolston Cut.

“In total we think we probably need to remove about 60,000 cubic metres of material from the river to deepen the channel and improve its flow rates,’’ Mr Davison says.

The Council also agreed today to look at opportunities to fast-track further stages of dredging work in the Heathcote River.

The dredging work is part of a package of flood mitigation works, including storage basins and the Flood Intervention Policy, the Council has put together to ease the risk of flooding on private properties in the Heathcote catchment.