A drone was sent in to inspect after a New Lynn culvert – an underground pipe through which a stream was flowing – collapsed after heavy rainfall on Sunday.
“Scouring and erosion occurred when water travelled over the road and into the embankment,” Craig Mcilroy, General Manager Healthy Waters, explains.
“The depth of scouring goes down several metres and debris, which was washed down during the weekend’s weather, has settled out over about 200 metres within the stream gully.
“Because the hole is filled with debris, we cannot say at this stage how large it is until we’re able to physically get in to inspect. This debris will be cleared by the council and Auckland Transport once it is safe to do so.
“So far, the drone has been used once to inspect the inside of the culvert however water levels were too high for it to investigate further. We are hopeful that by the end of today (Wednesday) the water would have receded enough that we can thoroughly investigate.
“The weather forecast for the next few days is for fine spells however we’ll monitor for any rain which may delay our investigation,” Mr Mcilroy says.
“We do not anticipate the hole to get bigger at this stage however would advise the public to stay clear of the area for safety.”
Whau Local Board Chair Tracy Mulholland says the New Lynn and Kelston communities had been hit hard by the extreme weather.
"There is still a lot of work to clean up the aftermath as this video shows,” she says.
“It will take some time, but I am confident that with all our council partners working together we can get through this.”
