Work done on drainage around the Sumner end of the Port Hills has been designed to better cope with the kind of storm that hit the city in October 2000.

According to Owen Southen, the Council officer in charge of managing the stormwater system, there is much less chance that a similar deluge today would result in the kind of flood damage seen in 2000.

The city’s southeast recorded the heaviest rainfall in that storm. A gauge at the top of Bowenvale Valley had about 190mm of rain over the storm’s three-day rampage.

Stormwater systems below were unable to cope and a dozen buildings in and around Sumner’s shopping area were flooded.

After assessing the damage and talking to Sumner residents the City Council designed an upgrade and spent about $300,000 on improvements to waterways and drainage in Nayland Street and Richmond Hill Road and on the Cave Rock pipeline outlet which releases stormwater from the valley above Richmond Hill Road.

The outlet work was completed along with other environmental improvements around Cave Rock.

Similar work, but on a smaller scale, has been done around Barnett Park in Redcliffs and on several other stormwater inlet grates on hill waterways.

Mr Southen says almost all the planned upgrade is now complete. “The work is a major improvement and the risk of the area suffering similar damage in a similar storm is now greatly reduced,” he says.