Banks Peninsula is taking another important step towards becoming better prepared for the increasing risk of wildfire, with Christchurch City Council investing in new strategic water-storage infrastructure across the peninsula.
Today, the Christchurch City Council’s Regional Manager Parks, Paul Devlin, together with Asif Hussain, CFO Banks Peninsula Volunteer Fire Brigade/Banks Peninsula Community Board Member, Project manager ranger Andrew Christie, along with members of the Akaroa (CFO Mark Thompson and Michelle Thompson) and Banks Peninsula volunteer fire brigades crew leaders (Andy Sims, Glen Court, Dave Evans) to identify strategically located sites for new water storage infrastructure. The team considered locations across the Summit Road and throughout the inner and outer harbour areas, with a particular focus on ensuring water can be accessed quickly in the event of a wildfire.
The Council plans to install 10 new 30,000-litre water tanks, adding approximately 300,000 litres of strategically positioned firefighting water storage across the peninsula.
Once in place, the cumulative new water storage capacity which includes improved ponds and tanks, around Akaroa and the Bays and wider Banks Peninsula will be approximately 1.8 million litres, providing an important additional resource for emergency response.
This investment is particularly timely.
With increasingly challenging weather conditions, the influence of El Niño, and the growing frequency and severity of wildfire events being witnessed overseas, strengthening our local preparedness is more important than ever. Fire resilience is not simply about responding to a fire once it has started. It is about having the infrastructure, information, access and local partnerships in place before an emergency occurs.
The new tanks are therefore part of a much broader approach to building resilience across Banks Peninsula.
Christchurch City Council and Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ), working alongside local volunteer fire brigades, are currently documenting existing water-storage resources across the area. This includes water tanks, farm dams, portable water systems, open creeks and other potentially available sources of water. If you are aware of any such location or water source please send me an email and we go from there.
The aim is to ensure these resources are recorded in the FENZ database so that emergency responders have a better understanding of where water is available and can make informed decisions quickly when responding to a fire.
For a geographically dispersed and predominantly rural community such as Banks Peninsula, this kind of preparedness can make a significant difference. Having reliable water sources identified in advance can help firefighters respond more efficiently, particularly in areas where access to conventional reticulated water supplies may be limited.
The work also demonstrates the importance of cooperation between public agencies and the local community. The strategic locations being considered for the new tanks have been identified with the assistance and cooperation of local landowners, farmers and rural communities.
I would like to sincerely thank the landowners, farmers and rural communities who have been willing to work with the Council and emergency services to identify suitable strategic locations. Your cooperation is an important part of strengthening the resilience of the wider community.
The planned installation of the 10 tanks is expected to begin over the next couple of weeks.
This is one more step towards making Akaroa and the Bays and the wider Banks Peninsula better prepared for the fire risks we increasingly face.
There is still more work to do, but today’s exercise was an encouraging reminder that resilience is built through planning, investment and collaboration.
Watch this space. I will continue to keep the community updated as this work progresses.
Kind regards
Dr Asif Hussain
Member, Banks Peninsula Community Board
Council’s Regional Manager Parks, Paul Devlin, together with Asif Hussain, CFO Banks Peninsula Volunteer Fire Brigade/Banks Peninsula Community Board member, Project manager ranger Andrew Christie, along with members of the Akaroa (CFO Mark Thompson and Michelle Thompson) and Banks Peninsula volunteer fire brigades crew leaders (Andy Sims, Glen Court, Dave Evans)