Seasonal Smarts: How Ashburton District Council Tackled Weather-Driven Issues with First Point Resolution

Ashburton District Council, located between Christchurch and Timaru on New Zealand’s South Island, is known for its flat terrain, wide green spaces, and proximity to both the Southern Alps and the Pacific Ocean. This geography makes it a hub for agriculture, heavy vehicle traffic, and tourism—especially along the state highway that cuts through the region. 

Navigating the Elements.

Despite its open landscape and manageable infrastructure, the Council faced mounting challenges during seasonal peaks. Wild weather events—like winter downpours, summer irrigation runoff, flooding, and autumn leaf fall—exacerbated delays in resolving community-reported issues. Inefficient reporting channels often meant:

• Higher barriers to reporting, resulting in reduced visibility of issues.
  
• Incomplete reports that lack essential context like location and severity.
• Delayed resolutions and wasted resources due to incorrect team deployments caused by missing information.

Each season brought a unique set of challenges:

Winter: Potholes became a reputational concern and were a key contributor to unsafe driving conditions.

Spring & Summer: Irrigation systems overflowing onto roads increased wear and tear.

Autumn: As a high vegetation area, the accumulation of fallen leaves and organic debris can block drains, significantly increasing the risk of localised flooding.

Year-round: Ashburton’s roads see a high volume of heavy vehicle traffic due to the district’s agricultural activity.

Council teams were spending more time clarifying, re-routing, or following up on incomplete reports than resolving the actual issues.

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Right Place. Right Team. Right Away.

In response, Ashburton District Council adopted Snap Send Solve as a primary channel in 2023 to streamline community reporting and deliver first point resolution, especially critical during peak weather periods.

Ashburton effectively made Snap Send Solve a primary reporting channel by embedding the webform directly on their website, ensuring easy access for all users. They actively promote the platform on their social media channels and consistently encourage residents to use the app to report issues, reinforcing it as the go-to solution for community concerns.

Key benefits included:

1. Faster Issue Resolution

Reports submitted via Snap Send Solve included all the necessary details and geolocation data, ensuring issues were routed to the right team with the right context—first time. In 2024, Snappers rated the Speed to Solve 4.14/5, an 8.66% increase since introduction in 2023.

2. Improved Community Trust

Residents noticed the faster fixes. Trust increased as they saw their reports being acted on promptly, particularly during high-stress seasonal periods. A 4% year-on-year rise in unique Snappers indicates growing confidence in the platform and trust that issues will be resolved.

3. Lower Workload for Council Teams
   The automatic triaging of reports meant less time spent managing emails and phone calls. Field crews were deployed more efficiently with clearer work orders, often based on user-submitted photos.

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The photo attachment rate was especially impactful, with 93% of Snap Send Solve containing photos. This meant crews could assess severity before arriving on-site, leading to better-prepared responses and saving valuable time and resources.

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“Getting a report with a photo and exact location means we can hit the ground running. We don’t have to second-guess the problem or go back and forth to confirm information, it’s all there. It saves us hours each week and lets us get straight to the fix, especially when the weather’s causing a spike in issues. What makes a real difference is that the app is so easy to use that it’s not just locals, tourists and people passing through can Snap something in seconds, and send later, wherever they are in New Zealand.”
— Neil McCann, Group Manager Infrastructure and Open Spaces

Proof in the Potholes.

• In 2024, Snappers rated the Speed to Solve 4.14/5, an 8.7% increase from 2023.‍
• 9.7% increase in community satisfaction of Snap Send Solve reported issue resolution year on year‍
• 91% of closed reports marked as ‘Solved’ in 2024‍
• 89% satisfaction rate of pothole related reports, 4% above the New Zealand average 

Ashburton District Council continues to champion community engagement by making it easier to report and resolve issues—no matter the season. With Snap Send Solve in place, they’re better prepared to respond quickly, build trust, and keep roads safe, from the first frost to the last leaf fall.

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