Cartwright Road Emergency Stormwater Works
Stormwater Conference
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On Saturday the 18th of February 2012 a section of spiral wound galvanized steel “ARMCO” pipe catastrophically failed, blocking the stormwater network and causing significant flooding of residential and commercial premises. The resultant emergency response was the first major Stormwater emergency event encountered post transition to the new single Auckland Council.
Emergency stormwater works were initiated as a result of the catastrophic failure of a section of “ARMCO” pipe that was then dislodged and forced through the downstream pipe to the outlet. This created a sinkhole approximately 10 m in diameter and 6 m deep in a Waitakere commercial property at 3 Cartwright Road, Kelston. Investigations showed that 60 m of ARMCO pipe remained and was in such a state of disrepair that emergency works were required to remove this pipe and restore the network.
Several departments of Council were required to work together on this project: Stormwater Operations and Civil Defense handled the initial response; Stormwater Projects managed the pipe remediation; and the Council Legal Team provided on-going support for access requirements, consent issues, and emergency management advice.
This paper focuses on the Council’s response to the issue, and how this response weighed against the benefit of hindsight.