Cleanup is underway in the Banks Peninsula town of Little River, as angry locals are left to wonder if some of the flooding could have been avoided.
Little River was cut off until this afternoon after State Highway 75 was inundated with water.
Now, aggrieved residents are questing if its impact could have been lessened if the council had lowered the level of Lake Forsyth before the storm hit.
“It’s a disaster, really, and it could have been avoided,” Little River Service Station worker Andy Davis said.
“Farmers did approach the council about opening the lake and that was back early or late last week and nothing had been done.”
Davis is cleaning up after floodwater smashed the windows and upended freezers in the store.
“Cars were driving through, it might have been the quakes and that could have broken the glass, or it might have been the force of the water actually inside.”
At Little River Inn, Rob McFarland was mopping the floor of the hotel after it flooded for the first time in 150 years.
“Obviously it’s quite a tragic event – a sea of water in here was the last thing we would have expected,” he said.
His daughter Sarah McFarland said because the lake was left high, water coming down the mountain “had nowhere to go and came through the building”.
However, the head of Three Waters said the flooding would not have been mitigated by opening the lake.
“Flooding in Little River and surrounding areas is caused by issues higher up in the catchment and would not have been prevented by opening Lake Forsyth earlier,” Gavin Hutchison said.
Diggers opened the lake to the sea yesterday afternoon.
“We have to time this to coincide with the southerly swells dropping to ensure the channel stays open and has the intended impact, and so we can ensure the safety of our staff and contractors when we carry out the work.”
But Lisa Ashfield, the owner of second-hand store Deja New, was sceptical.
“Having the lake open before the rain does help. It might not mean we never get flooding, but it might help disperse some of the water,” she said.
Instead, she found her shop in 20-centimetre-deep water, destroying a lot of her stock and leaving her with a huge cleanup.
“I’m not sure whether to close the doors and walk away.”
