On Saturday 17th of July, Marlborough suffered a flood event that exceeded one in 100 year levels and exceeded river flow rates experienced in the very damaging 1983 Blenheim Flood.
Simcox regular rivers, quarries and trucking teams were bolstered by our wider earthworks and drainage projects teams along with some of our key local subcontractor partners all joined together in an immediate response from the day the rivers were rising watching critical areas and sandbagging overtopping stopbanks and any piping failures through the stopbanks. This was a weekend, but key staff through the business were prepared on Friday for what was to come and worked all through Saturday and very late into that first night and then all day again late into Sunday evening. We were of course working under the instructions of the well organised flood emergence response team of Marlborough District Council.
Following that first weekend, a huge amount of organising and transporting of machinery began on Monday and then on Tuesday through to Saturday, our team tirelessly responded with the following resources all operated and led by our skilled Simcox staff. Most of the team had Sunday 25th off for safety and fatigue management and then this week we have been at it again on a whole new list of faults and have completed most of those also.
Resources snap shot on 21st July (Emergency Council and Vineyard worksites that were in progress that day):
- MDC - Parkes Road Stopbank Breach - Graham (12t digger), Dean (5t roller), 3 trucks
- MDC – Bar Road Stopbank Breach - Dave S (26t digger), Greg (5t digger), Phil (tracked dump truck), 2 trucks
- MDC – Pukaka Road Stopbank Breach - Jason (30t digger), Dave B (roller), 3 trucks
- MDC - Hardings Road Stopbank Slump - Gordon (12t digger), Leith (14t digger), 6 trucks
- MDC – Waikakaho Stopbank Breach - Troy (21t digger), Willie (D85 bulldozer), Ollie (dump truck), Joel (roller)
- MDC – Peninsula Road Stopbank Overtopping and Scouring - Greg (5t digger), 2 trucks
- MDC – Cravens Road Stopbank Repair - Richard (24t digger)
- MDC – Various Site Clearing Fallen Trees and Dewatering Pumping - Jim and Chase (chainsaws, trucks and 6 inch to 3 inch pumps)
- MDC – Pukaka Quarry Producing Clayey Stopbank Material - Craig (35t digger), Rob (loader), Matt (dump truck)
- Simcox – Barracks Quarry Producing Armour Rock - RJ (48t digger), Calvin (loader), Aaron (dump truck)
- Delegat Limited – Stopbank and Vineyard Repairs - Dave and Nathan O’Malley (Manager and Supervisor), Brendan (34t digger), Paul (D65 bulldozer), Rory (dump truck), Chris (grader), John (D65 bulldozer), Charlie (5t digger), Chris Callahan (14t digger), Alex (site truck)
- VinLink Marlborough Limited – Stopbank, Creek and Headland Repairs - Dave O’Malley (Manager), Dane (21t digger), Ian (D8 bulldozer), Royce (dump truck)
Thank you to our supporting staff in the office, workshop (Zac, Murry, Scotty), on trucks (Gav, Walter, Rodrigo, Goat, Dean, Splitty, Jim and Kevin), Rizzo on fuel truck, various staff piloting and Kyle plus subcontractors transporting. Also thank you to our traffic management team of Adele, Jordan and Paul that were keeping these evolving emergency sites signage up to top standard. Our preferred hire partner Porter Hire Blenheim did a great job supporting our response team also.
Thanks for all the locals that gave us a hand through the first weekend of the event and the 2 weeks since.Well done to the whole team that was led from the front by our Rivers Contract Project Manager Jesse Klempel. It is a huge testament to the skills, knowledge and experience that our team members have built up over the many years that we have repeated held the MDC Rivers Flood Maintenance Contract.
We are thinking of those other regions such as the West Coast that were heavily affected by the recent flood events also.
