Scenic Hotel Group has sued two West Coast councils after flood water swept through one of its businesses, according to Stuff.co.nz.

During a heavy rain in March 2016, the Waiho River burst a stopbank approximately 1 kilometre north of Franz Josef – inundating the West Coast. The Heartland Mueller Hotel, owned by Scenic Hotel Group, was one of the properties affected.

The hotel chain claimed that it lost $30 million as a result of damage caused when the hotel was inundated. The figure included rebuild costs, content replacement, and loss of earnings.

The Scenic Hotel Group lodged legal action against the Westland District Council and the West Coast Regional Council, claiming that the councils failed to monitor and maintain the stopbank.

The hotel chain alleged that the stopbank was substandard despite the flood-prone nature of the river.

Westland Mayor Bruce Smith, who was not in the role at the time of the flooding, said that the legal action will involve a lot of money but the ratepayers are protected by the council’s insurance.

“It's a lot of money – we're insured so our ratepayers are protected,” Smith told Stuff.co.nz.

Smith is in favour of building and maintaining stopbanks to protect the town.