Heavy downpour floods Ashburton businesses, library
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
A short, sharp downpour flooded Ashburton businesses, ruined 200 library books and caused sewage to overflow.
Up to 30mm of rain fell in 15 minutes on Saturday afternoon, causing havoc for local businesses and surface flooding on some Ashburton streets.
Ashburton Public Library manager Jill Watson said it was the worst flooding in the building she had seen in her 48 years of working there.
However, she hoped it would be the last.
The library is set to close on November 26 to start its shift to the new Te Whare Whakatere, Ashburton Library and Civic Centre, which is set to open on December 18.
Council people and facilities general manager Sarah Mosley said that at least 200 books would not make the trip after being damaged by the leaky roof.
It made for a different kind of hum at the library on Monday.
“We have dehumidifiers working flat out to dry out wet carpet tiles,” Mosley said.
The old library, which opened in 1967, wasn’t alone in suffering from the storm's rapid downpour.
Across town at the River Crossing retail precinct, which opened just over a year ago, the Kmart had to close after water began leaking near the entrance.
“The guttering got overwhelmed and it flooded into the building,” Tricroft general manager Tony Gilbert said.
“That amount of water in a short space of time, it got overwhelmed.
“The fact there were so many other buildings with similar issues shows that it was quite a volume of water.”
Formosa Restaurant's roof leak was so damaging the business remained closed on Monday for repairs.
Nearby Cleavers Corner Gastro Pub had the surface flooding breach its doors requiring a clean-up to open on Sunday, and around the corner, the F45 gym was completely flooded and remained closed on Monday.
Several roads resembled rivers from the deluge on Saturday.
Ashburton resident Margaret Anderson said it “was like a river with water flowing along the road" at the intersection of SH1/West St and SH77/Moore St.
Surface flooding led to raw sewerage flowing along William Str.
Council infrastructure and open space general manager Neil McCann said the problem occurred where council contractors were putting in new wastewater pipes.
“The site was inundated with stormwater that infiltrated the wastewater system and caused an overflow.
“The site has been cleaned up and disinfected by the contractor.
“Events like these have no impact on council’s drinking water network in Ashburton, and tap water remains safe to drink.”
The roading and stormwater networks have been checked and there was no major damage to report, he said.
“We had a few isolated spots where water pooled, as you would expect with a sudden heavy downpour.”
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.7% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.6% Other - I'll share below
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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