Ōhiti Road | Ōmāhu

Part of the Government’s North Island Weather Event (NIWE) recovery programme, the Ōhiti Rd | Omāhu project aims to reduce flood risk for 11 Category 2C properties along Ōhiti Road and nearby. The goal is to reclassify these homes to Category 1 – the lowest risk.

The preferred solution is a new stopbank, designed to protect against a 1-in-100-year flood. The design includes embankments and some road raising on the Omāhu side of Taihape Road to ensure protection doesn’t shift the risk elsewhere.

Ōhiti Road was hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle. While most homes in the area avoided formal Section 72 notices, they were flagged as high risk for future flooding. A stopbank is the best option to provide targeted, reliable protection. It will give Category 2C properties 1:100-year flood protection and, just as crucially, buy time for safe evacuation in larger events.

Construction is scheduled to start in November 2025, once final designs are confirmed and consents secured. Major works are likely to take six to eight months, wrapping up mid-2026. Some stream works and erosion protection are already complete.