Flooding is Queenstown's most serious Threat by Kakapo2
-Queenstown can be flooded from time to time, especially after the snowmelt and heavy rainfall. The major flooding of 1999 happened after extensive rainfall. Some buildings were still flooded two weeks after the event, several businesses were out of action for three months. Since then many insurance companies do not cover the area any longer against flood-related damage.
Queenstown?s location is the problem. It lies on the shores of Lake Wakatipu which drains via the Kawarau River. Inflows to the lake (by the Dart River among several rivers that flow into the lake in the Glenorchy area) are higher than outflows. Plus, the Shotover river as a major tributary of the Kawarau River has a large delta which impedes the flow of the Kawarau, and further downstream the Kawarau has a narrow gorge which constricts the flows.
Due to this geographical position, once there were recommendations in place to build only on higher grounds and not at lake level. The warnings of the flood risk have been widely ignored, especially by businesses. So now nearly all of Queenstown?s tourist businesses and restaurants are located in the centre of a floodplain, and are calling the regional council for better flood protection on a regular base.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council and the Otago Regional Council, however, have told the people to learn to live with flooding and attempt to reduce its impact. (For example, to raise the floor levels of affected buildings.)
The strategy does not provide any plans to prevent the floodings. (The situation at Lake Wanaka BTW is similar.) ?If you choose to live on the flood plains of a major catchment like Lake Wakatipu and Lake Wanaka then there is an inevitability about flooding", says Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Clive Geddes. "Successive councils, both regional and district, have over 40 years looked at every possible physical option and we have come down in 2006 to understanding there is a limited amount of work we can do."
This, of course, does not satisfy the owners of waterside properties.
It is a bit like with people who build next to an existing tennis court and then complain about the permanent plop-plop of the tennis balls.
Historic context:
During the flood of November 1999 Lake Wakatipu reached a peak level of 312.78 metres, exceeding the record from 1878. About five hectares of the township were flooded. In some locations the water stood more than a metre above floor level. Central Queenstown became a serious health risk as decomposing mud, food and sewage contaminated the floodwaters. Visitors were told to stay away. Of course, this is a dreadful scenario for a town that totally depends on tourism.
This is a very interesting article about the flood problem in Queenstown. It includes photos of the 1999 flooding:
http://www.qualityplanning.org.nz/pubs/1999-Queenstown-Floods.pdf
