Te kaupapa mahi mō te manawaroa i te waipuke i Wairau Wairau flood resilience project

The severe weather events in early 2023 affected many communities in the Wairau area and resulted in two fatalities. As a result, we are working to reduce flood risks and prepare for future flooding.

We want to improve Wairau's flood resilience The ability of a system, community or society to handle and recover from hazards in a fast, efficient way. This includes risk management to protect and restore basic services and functions. by:

• increasing how much stormwater that uninhabited green space can hold during flooding
• creating more stormwater Rain water that runs off roofs, roads, driveways and other impermeable surfaces associated with development. storage and wetland spaces
• restoring streams.

This project is part of our Making Space for Water programme and is co-funded by central government. It will add to our other flood management initiatives to keep Auckland safe.

We will create a network of flood management systems that protect homes, businesses and infrastructure. The systems:

• are designed to work together
• will get better at reducing flood risk with each part we build.

These systems together will form a blue-green network.

The complete blue-green network will:

• make the stormwater network more resilient and easier to maintain
• significantly reduce flooding risk to:
• • homes
  • businesses
  • transport networks
  • power and water infrastructure
• help maintain access to:
  • important roads
  • important community facilities including schools, retirement villages, North Shore Hospital and other medical facilities
• restore natural waterways, increase biodiversity and improve neighbourhood connectivity while protecting homes and businesses.

We will build the first two stages of the project over the next 10 years. Developing a large project like this requires:

• careful planning
• construction that happens in stages
• ongoing collaboration with the community.

Our proposed improvements to the Wairau catchment An area of land where rainwater, streams and rivers flow into a single body of water, like a river, lake or reservoir. .

We will upgrade A F Thomas Park by:

• increasing how much stormwater the park can hold from 60,000 cubic metres to 550,000 cubic metres
• creating wetlands Shallow pond that supports a natural ecosystem of plants and animals that are adapted to wet conditions. Wetlands typically provide treatment of stormwater by removing sediment which contains contaminants such as heavy metals. , dry detention A basin that holds stormwater during heavy rain and releases it slowly to prevent flooding. Outside of weather events, it can be used as a recreational space, such as a sport field. and overland flow paths as needed to prevent stormwater from overwhelming Wairau Creek and surrounding areas.

Stage 1 will also include the removal of Woodbridge Lane Bridge.

These upgrades are essential. They will support and improve the effectiveness of the flood management systems proposed in Stage 2.

We will maintain A F Thomas Park as a flexible green space for community recreation that also helps manage flooding.

The proposed work across the wider Wairau catchment includes:

• increasing the capacity of up to four stormwater detention ponds Ponds that hold stormwater run-off to prevent flooding and erosion downstream. They release water slower than the water enters. Similar to wetland but generally much larger so they can hold a greater amount of water. , including at Rewi Alley Reserve, Trias Reserve and Tōtaravale Reserve
• widening and daylighting streams Bringing a buried stream back to the surface so it can flow above ground again. to restore their natural flow, including Wairau Creek
• upgrading stormwater infrastructure along Wairau Road to improve water flow.

In April 2025, the Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee supported a business case to combine flood storage with recreational facilities at A F Thomas Park. Examples of flood storage could be ponds or wetlands where excess water can be stored during heavy rains or floods.

At the same meeting, the committee requested the proposed concept be reviewed alongside another design submitted by Takapuna Golf Course.

The golf club’s initial proposal was not considered practical due to cost and maintenance requirements. The council gave a one-month extension to the golf club to submit an alternate design.

The golf club's new proposal is similar to the council's proposed design in terms of location and method of storing stormwater. This means we can now move forward with a single design that has both flood storage and recreation facilities.

Check A park with purpose: flood protection and recreation to coexist at AF Thomas Park on OurAuckland to learn more.

Download the full concept design report to learn more.

We are working closely with the Wairau community to gather feedback on the project's early concept designs. This feedback will guide the project's design.

Read our presentation to the Wairau community.

We have established a Community Advisory Group (CAG), which includes representatives from mana whenua, local boards and key community organisations. The role of the CAG is to make sure we include feedback from the local community to develop and deliver this project.

We will hold a public consultation to ask for feedback about including the golf course with A F Thomas Park. The Kaipātiki Local Board will make the final decision.

We will continue to work with the 'Future Use of Land' team to integrate blue-green network flood resilience works in and around Nile Road and Tōtara Vale. This also includes using land from Category 3 property buyouts.

We do not expect construction in A F Thomas Park to begin before 2027.

Learn more about our process for creating blue-green network projects.

Email bluegreen@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz for more information about this project.

News

via OurAuckland