We listen to the rivers

Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi (delivering RiverLink)

Our flood protection work is expected to safeguard residents from large flood events that could affect up to 3,000 homes, five schools and 600 businesses, with the potential to cause an estimated $1.1 billion worth of damage across the community. We’re currently upgrading the existing stopbank between Melling Link Bridge and just north of Mills Street.

Mills St stopbank

Flood risk

We have flood risks from the 2,333km of rivers (and 19,365km of streams) that flow across our region.

Flood protection

In flood-prone areas like Wairarapa and Lower Hutt we’ve invested millions of dollars in flood protection works, which is also creating jobs.

In 2021 we removed 320,000m3 of gravel and planted 44,000 native plants and willows to help rivers follow their natural course, reduce erosion and mitigate the effects of flooding accelerated by climate change.