ORC has welcomed $5.4 million in Government funding to assist with further works on the Taieri Contour Channel flood-bank project, south of Dunedin near Mosgiel, from a $101 million package announced by Minister for Regional Development, Shane Jones earlier today.

ORC’s Chief Executive Richard Saunders says this is good news for Otago and for the wider sector as the Government contribution will be in the form of grant funding; 60% is Crown grant funding with the 40% balance of the cost being the regional share.

The Contour Channel (West Taieri) Resilience Upgrade is one of several key projects within the ORC’s wider flood protection schemes, which overall covers more than 200 kilometres across parts of Otago, Mr Saunders says.

Minister Jones says the Regional Development Ministerial Group had approved $101,094,000 of funding from the Regional Infrastructure Fund towards 42 Flood Resilience ‘Before the Deluge’ Projects across the country.

ORC’s co-chair of the Safety and Resilience committee, Councillor Gary Kelliher, says this is positive news for the Taieri Contour Chanel project and will support acceleration of the works involved.

“We know that this flood infrastructure is critical to not just the properties directly protected but to the wider Otago region. Being able to accelerate this project ensures that the benefits can be realised sooner,” Mr Kelliher says.

ORC’s other co-chair of the Safety and Resilience committee, Councillor Alan Somerville, also thanked the Government for its support, noting that the challenges of extreme weather events were beyond the resources of local government alone.

“We extend our thanks to the Government for their support of these and other projects around the country. We’ve seen over recent years the harm to communities and the damage that can be caused by climate related events.”

“Improved infrastructure is one part of the planning for a more volatile climate future. We also need to continue our collective efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the region and the country,” Mr Somerville says.

Alongside Otago’s $5.4 million funding, Southland received a total $3.6 million for three projects while Canterbury received a total $5.7 million for three projects.

Background:

ORC provides flood protection and land drainage for about43,000 hectares of rural and urban land in Otago, with more than 200km of floodbanks, 14 pumping stations, 42 bridges, 369 culverts and various other infrastructure including weirs, walls, trees and groynes.

Many of Otago’s communities are in low-lying areas close to rivers which pose a flood hazard. A scheme is a network of infrastructure assets in a particular area designed to protect communities from flood hazards, to drain farmland or to manage rivers. ORC also helps to manage rivers outside of the schemes by monitoring and managing river channels, managing vegetation and mitigating erosion where appropriate.

Lower Taieri Flood Protection Scheme

The Lower Taieri Flood Protection Scheme mitigates the risk of flooding to the Taieri plains, including the townships of Mosgiel, Outram and Henley. It also protects critical infrastructure such as key transport routes; state highway and railway networks, Dunedin airport, and power and three waters infrastructure.

Along with the East and West Taieri drainage schemes, the Lower Taieri Flood Protection Scheme was the first to be developed in Otago – works started in 1870. It is a complex network affected by many rivers. The scheme uses ponding areas to detain peak flows and ease pressure on the scheme downstream, minimising the risk that the scheme will fail. Silver Stream, Waipori River and the Ōwhiro Stream are tributaries to this lower portion of the Taieri River.

West Taieri Drainage Scheme

The West Taieri Drainage Scheme drains part of the Lower Taieri Flood Protection Scheme (above) – the area bounded by the Taieri River, Lake Waipori and the West Taieri Contour Channel. A small part of the scheme lies in the Henley Floodway.

The West Taieri area differs from the other drainage schemes in that water must be pumped out – gravity cannot be used to drain water out of the scheme. A significant portion of the scheme lies at or below 1m of sea level. There are pump stations at Waipori, Henley and Lake Ascog.

ORC Flood Defences https://www.orc.govt.nz/managing-natural-hazards/flood-defences/

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