Source: Auckland Council
Auckland Council is taking further action to protect homes from flooding with the Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee endorsing a major flood resilience project for Clover Drive in Rānui.
This follows the green light given to critical projects in Māngere earlier in 2024.
“I’m pleased that we’ll be able to get on with the flood resilience work in Rānui. This community was among the worst affected during the 2023 Anniversary Weekend floods so it’s critical we progress the work to mitigate against future risk and protect residents living in these areas,” says Mayor Wayne Brown.
At its recent meeting, the Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee approved the business case for Clover Drive flood resilience works which now releases funding for the design and consenting processes.
“Receiving the endorsement to progress with this next project is a much-welcomed step forward,” says Councillor Andy Baker, Chair of the Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee.
“Reducing the risks to our flood-prone communities is a clear priority for this council. Improving the capacity to manage stormwater in these areas will significantly reduce flood risk for hundreds of homes as well as create an opportunity to make transformational improvements to the wider community.”
Improving flood resilience in Rānui
Many streets, including Clover Drive and more, in the Rānui area experienced severe flooding during the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods. The area was inundated with floodwaters, reaching depths of close to two metres in some houses with emergency services conducting numerous rescues of marooned residents.
Waitākere Ward Councillor Shane Henderson acknowledges the impacts of flooding on this community and the importance of this work.
“Our communities in Rānui have been feeling the severe impacts of flooding long before the Auckland Anniversary floods and were one of the worst hit areas at the time. It’s important that we, as a council, support our hardest hit communities and it’s great to see the work in Clover Drive prioritised so it can progress swiftly,” says Cr Henderson.
Waitākere Ward Councillor Ken Turner celebrates this milestone and acknowledges that there’s more work to be done.
“It’s good to see this work reach a key milestone for our West Auckland communities. It’s important for us to ensure our focus remains on maintaining these improvements into the future so we can safeguard against increased capacity.”
The planned improvements in Rānui will be done in collaboration with local iwi and the community to maximise benefits for the wider area. Works may involve widening of streams and installing debris racks to enhance water flow and reduce the risk of blockages. Upgrades to bridges to increase stormwater flow will also be planned with community input.
These physical changes will be complemented by efforts to enhance the local environment, creating open spaces, connecting parkland and pathways, and widening streams to redirect water away from homes during heavy rain events. This work stands to bring many benefits to the community, including better water quality, more open space, improved biodiversity, and better connectivity.
This initiative is part of the Making Space for Water programme co-funded by local and central government to share the cost of storm recovery and resilience work in the Auckland region.
Early concept designs are currently being scoped and once completed will be presented to cabinet for final funding approval by March 2025. Once funding is approved, community engagement will continue, before moving into detailed design stages, with construction expected to commence in late 2026/early 2027.
Planning and prioritisation for future projects
Many communities were heavily impacted by the severe weather events of early 2023 including the Wairau Valley area which experienced widespread damage, especially in the residential areas of Tōtara Vale, Nile Road and commercial areas around Wairau Road, tragically resulting in two fatalities.
The council is working closely with the Wairau community to gather feedback and input on early concept designs before a business case is submitted in the coming months.
Further areas across Tāmaki Makaurau continue to be assessed and prioritised for future blue-green works.
You can find out more information about these projects on the council’s website or you can reach out to the team at bluegreen@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz
About Making Space for Water
The Making Space for Water programme includes a range of initiatives to reduce flood risk to Aucklanders. Part of this is building new flood resilient infrastructure to enhance stormwater assets and green spaces to deliver increased flood management.
Auckland Council is sharing some of the cost of flood resilience projects with central government as part of a $2 billion co-funding agreement for storm recovery. These are subject to business case approvals from both the council and the government, and projects must demonstrate a flood risk reduction for the wider community, not just individual properties.
