Funding for flood management infrastructure as part of Budget 2024 will accelerate six projects in the Waikato region.

Budget 2024, released yesterday, dedicates an initial $200 million for flood resilience infrastructure (with $101.1 million committed), along with co-investment from regional and unitary councils, to 42 flood resilience projects that are close to getting started.

Waikato Regional Council Chair Pamela Storey said the council was part of Te Uru Kahika – Regional and Unitary Councils Aotearoa, which had submitted a business case (Before the Deluge) of 80 ready-to-go flood protection projects to Government ministers for co-investment to improve community resilience against extreme weather events.

Six ready-to-go flood protection projects in the Waikato have been identified for support. They are:

• a lower Waikato stopbank upgrade (Waikato district)
• an Island Block pump station upgrade (Waikato district)
• a Kirikiri Stream stopbank upgrade (Hauraki district)
• Thames Valley Diversion Channel planting upgrades (Hauraki district)
• a Mangatawhiri pump station upgrade (Waikato district)
• a lower Waikato floodgate upgrade programme (Waikato district).

The Government is working through the nature and size of support that will be offered for each project.

“It’s fantastic to see the Government partnering with us to deliver these essential services that protect our communities and significant Crown assets, such as state highways and the main trunk railway, from flood events,” said Chair Storey.

“These projects are part of our planned regular renewal and maintenance programme, but the funding relieves some of the burden of cost on our ratepayers and also brings peace of mind.

“You only have to look at the extreme wet weather events of last year, cyclones Hale and Gabrielle and over Auckland Anniversary weekend, to see how important good infrastructure is for the resilience of our communities.”

In the Waikato, 300,000 hectares of land is protected by flood protection infrastructure, enabling a boost of $2.2 billion to the regional economy.

© Scoop Media