Environment Canterbury (ECAN) is asking for urgent funding from central government to help meet climate change-induced flood hazard risks.
The increasing scale and frequency of extreme weather events hammering the country could be exposing weaknesses in our current infrastructure.
Two days after record-breaking rainfall in Christchurch, Emmett Street resident Barney Gray was still wading through flood waters in her front yard.
A couple of hours later, Christchurch City Council had cleared the blockage, but for Emmett Street residents it was a couple of hours too late.
Gray told Newshub she wants the council to actually get out of their trucks and talk to people who have been impacted by the blockage on Emmett Street.
"Get out of your truck and take a look. Check on the people."
But Christchurch City Council said its stormwater system coped well with the floods.
"We'll have to learn to live with the fact that these rivers and streams will spill out over their banks when we have high flow events and make sure we can bounce back afterwards," Christchurch City Council's Helen Beaumont told Newshub.
Over the last two years, there have been at least a dozen major rain events.
Infrastructure in the city and in surrounding areas has been put to the test, and during the Ashburton floods in May 2021 it failed.
Straight after the Ashburton floods, ECAN said its ability to maintain flood protection was compromised by funding.
The impact of climate change has been accounted for in the council's current flood management plans, but Beaumont said some areas in Christchurch are more prone to flooding.
"There are some parts of the city that are so low lying and subject to frequent floods we may have to move out of those areas."
Recent flooding has renewed the regional council's calls for more government funding.
"In the face of climate change, we know we need $150 million more per annum, regional sector stumped up 200 million per annum, and we're seeking to partner with the Government," ECAN CEO Stefanie Rixecker told Newshub.
Rixecker said the money is spent on the aftermath.
"At the moment the way the system is set up we spend money on the recovery. We wait for the disaster to happen."
The emergency management minister says the Government is assessing what more support may be needed, including for flood protection, and that the Three Waters reform will provide better service in the long term.
"There will be some resilience aspects that we can turn our attention to once we address the significant issue of investing in water infrastructure," Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta said.
With extreme weather fast becoming commonplace, ECAN said it's time to share the load.
