Residents in one of the most flood prone parts of Christchurch have expressed utter frustration at the news short term measures to prevent further flooding won't be completed until the end of winter.
Mayor Lianne Dalziel gave a taskforce of council officials two weeks to come up with answers to floods that have plagued parts of Christchurch since the earthquakes.
A solution to Christchurch's flooding problems is still months away. Photo: RNZ / Nicola Grigg
They reported on Monday saying they would need three more weeks to make a concrete decision and that whatever they settled on would take another three months to build.
The taskforce identified 56 houses that have flooded twice or more since the earthquakes including one belonging to Rose Lennon.
Ms Lennon hasn't lived in her Flockton Basin home since it was flooded in March.
She says news nothing can be done until the other side of winter is almost too much to bear.
Ms Lennon says they now have no hope of ever being able to sell their badly damaged home and the only fair solution is for the Government to pay them out in the same way it did for those affected by the earthquakes.
She says the flooding is due to land damage resulting from the earthquakes and is therefore the responsibility of the Government to sort out.
Repeated flooding in Christchurch's flooding basin is frustrating residents. Photo: RNZ
Jenni Smith's nearby home had a foot of water through it in June last year and again in March.
But she's satisfied the council is doing everything it can to fix the problem.
Ms Smith, says the council has a lot on its plate and it's important an area wide solution is found rather than one that only benefits a few homes.
Babu Chatterji says a lot of people in his Flockton Basin street have moved because of the constant flooding.
But he doesn't think paying people out for the value of their homes and letting them move elsewhere is the answer.
Mr Chatterji, says it may take several years to come up with a long term solution.
The council taskforce has yet to make its final recommendations but is considering measures including raising houses, waterproofing foundations, building stop banks and improving drainage.
Council land drainage operations manager Mike Gillooly says while red zoning homes isn't being considered, getting people out of the worst affected houses until problems are fixed, could be an option.
Mr Gillooly, says one option would be to buy a person's home from them, repair it and then sell it back to them.
He says the person could stay in a temporary village while the work was being carried out.
Mr Gillooly says protecting the 56 most vulnerable properties will cost $13.6 million.
Final recommendations will be presented to the council at the end of the month.
