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The Matakana Fire Station in Omaha Flats Road, under water in 2011 and 2023 below.Serious flooding that has put a local fire station underwater at least twice, and risks crews not being able to respond in an emergency, urgently needs addressing, a Rodney Local Board meeting heard on March 19.Omaha Flats Road resident Mark Postlewaight and Matakana Volunteer Fire Brigade senior firefighter Lisa Donaldson told members the problem was a box culvert next to the fire station that could no longer cope with heavy rainfall.
“It’s affecting eight properties on Omaha Flats Road and the fire station keeps going underwater,” Postlewaight said.“The road’s like a dam and the water can’t get through. That drain catchment goes right back to the sewage plant in Jones Road, so water from a huge area barrels into that drain.
It can’t take any more.”Donaldson said flood water spilled over from the culvert and filled roadside swales, meaning the road and fire station entrance couldn’t be seen.“When you’re travelling in through the water, you can’t see the drains on either side so there’s a risk of you getting into trouble yourself,” she said.
Board members heard that the entire fire station had to be cleared out during the last big floods to avoid damage to fire trucks and equipment. As Matakana had the only water tanker in the wider area, Donaldson said it was vital trucks could still be used and comms equipment wasn’t damaged.Postlewaight said several approaches had been made to Auckland Council, Healthy Waters and Auckland Transport, but in the end AT had said enlarging or replacing the culvert did not meet its funding criteria.
“We don’t know where to go next. Hutchinson Consulting Engineers have done calculations on the pipe and said it is undersized and needs repairing and addressing,” he said.Members agreed that something needed to be done about the situation and voted to ask AT to report back to them.
“This is a safety emergency situation and flooding is one of the major issues we have up here,” Board member Guy Wishart said. “This needs to be handled in a different way to emphasise the emergency side of things. We can’t have such a vital piece of infrastructure unable to work.
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