- Hon Mark Mitchell
Flood resilience across the Wairarapa will be increased thanks to the Government's commitment of more than $8 million across five projects.
"Today, I am visiting the Wairarapa as part of the Government's 100-day plan to meet with community representatives affected by the 2023 severe weather events to understand what can be done to speed up and simplify recovery efforts," Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell says.
"These weather events highlighted the need for greater flood resilience across the Wairarapa and I am pleased to demonstrate our commitment by working with local councils to fund these projects.
"New projects I am announcing today will protect homes near the Riversdale Northern Reserve (Masterton District Council) and Flat Point (Carterton District Council) from future flooding.
"Properties in Masterton's Cockburn Street will be protected from inflows of sewage which is an issue following heavy rainfall events. This will resolve health issues while improved storm and wastewater infrastructure is implemented.
"In another project, resilience work will be undertaken in Tīnui (Masterton District Council) to either raising the home, reinforcing a bund wall or moving the dwelling to a more suitable area on the property.
"A further project will see Greater Wellington Regional Council receive funding to improve early flood warning systems for isolated Eastern Wairarapa communities."
Last year funding of $3.5 million for a project to remove blockages in the Wairarapa's Upper Ruamāhanga catchment was announced. This means a total of $11.6 million has been allocated to Wairarapa projects from the Local Government Flood Resilience Co-investment Fund.
"The combined outcomes from these six projects will increase the peace of mind for many Wairarapa residents by improving resilience against flooding events across the region," Mr Mitchell says.
Flat Point Flood resilience - Carterton District Council - $350,000
The initiative will design and build a planted, earthen bund around the Western and Northern boundaries of the Flat Point settlement. The settlement is on the east coast of the Carterton District Council and includes about 100 properties severely affected by surface water flooding during the North Island weather events.
Cockburn Street Sewer Resilience - Masterton District Council - $1,300,000
Storage tanks and/or reflux valves will be installed at residential properties to protect against inflows of sewage during heavy rainfall events. This work can be completed relatively quickly, providing a much-needed solution for this community.
Riversdale Water Protection Wairarapa - Masterton District Council - $411,000
High water flows during the severe weather events caused extensive erosion along the Motuwaireka Stream, at Riversdale. This particularly impacted land bordering Riversdale Beach Northern Reserve, where considerable land and native vegetation was lost. This initiative will protect residences bordering the northern reserve by stabilising the stream edge and will avoid further erosion and allow the stream to flow naturally.
Flood relocation Wairarapa - Masterton District Council - $4,800,000
Work will be undertaken to mitigate risks of future weather impacts for residential dwellings in Tīnui identified by the council as being directly impacted by the severe weather events. Improvements could include raising the home, reinforcing a bund wall, or moving the dwelling to a more suitable area on the property.
Eastern Wairarapa Recovery and Resilience work: Early flood warning systems upgrade - Greater Wellington Regional Council - $1,250,000
Installation of early warning systems will build greater resilience for communities in isolated areas. This funding will support engineering assessments and stilling well improvements at critical flood warning sites, satellite communication back systems, and infrastructure improvements and gauging camera installation for high-flow gauging.
