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       Reservoir breach likely cause of silty torrent
        
 (HTM) Source
        
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       At least one home was damaged and five other properties threatened by
       silt water surging from a neighbouring development site in Wānaka.
        
       Fire crews were alerted shortly before 9am yesterday to flooding at a
       property on Mount Roy Tce, which sits downhill from a large silt water
       reservoir on the site of a planned 354-lot residential subdivision.
        
       A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said one house had flood
       damage. Crews had taken steps to prevent any additional properties
       from being affected.
        
       A homeowner in neighbouring Wineberry Lane, Sam Smoothy, said he woke
       shortly after 9am to find water surrounding his house and rising
       rapidly.
        
       "It was all pretty hectic."
        
       He watched with concern as the rushing water came up to his house,
       stopping within 5cm of the home.
        
       A friend later arrived with a digger to create drainage channels and
       direct the water away from his property.
        
       Mr Smoothy said he understood contractors were trying to release
       excess water from the reservoir in a controlled manner when things
       went wrong.
        
       A contractor from the development visited him in the afternoon and
       informed him the water surge was likely the result of a breach in the
       reservoir's wall.
        
       While he appreciated the company's efforts to keep homeowners updated,
       he could not understand why there had been no attempt at communication
       earlier in the day when it was clear the water was heading where it
       shouldn't.
        
       "The interesting thing for me is that even if it's a controlled
       release, why didn't they go downstream and warn anybody?
        
       "Where did they think that pile of water was going to go?"
        
       John MacKay, managing director of Benchmark Construction and the
       primary contractor on the development site, told the _Otago Daily
       Times_ the surge of water was due to an unexpected breach of the
       reservoir.
        
       "There's been a burst in the actual dam wall that has released the
       volume of water that's caused the damage."
        
       In a statement, a Queenstown Lakes District Council spokesperson said
       the flooding incident appeared to be related to ''a failure of erosion
       and sediment controls" on a private property after heavy rain
       overnight.
        
       "The property owner, council contractors and emergency services have
       worked to prevent any further flooding and pump water from affected
       properties."
        
       The spokesperson said the council's monitoring and enforcement team
       were investigating the incident and could not offer any further
       comment until the investigation ended.
        
       _regan.harris@odt.co.nz_
        
        
        
        
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