Waipawa stopbank upgrade

Funded by central government and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) under the North Island Weather Event (NIWE) flood mitigation programme, this project will upgrade the Waipawa stopbank network upgraded to the regional standard of 1-in-100-year protection – incorporating updated post-Gabrielle modelling and an additional 700mm of freeboard. The improved defences will offer greater security against future flooding – and give residents with more time to evacuate safely if another storm of the severity of Gabrielle was to strike.

We are in the early stages of preliminary design, but the work will likely include:

• Increasing the height and width of the stopbank that runs from Coronation Park to Rathbone Street, along the left bank of the Waipawa River.
• Ensuring the riverside ‘batter’ – or slope – of the stopbank meets current HBRC design standards.

During Cyclone Gabrielle, floodwaters broke through the stopbank at Coronation Park, behind Stephenson’s and SH2. Elsewhere in lower Waipawa, the force of the water scoured out riverbanks and overtopped stopbanks along many streets – leaving parts of the town underwater, 60 houses heavily damaged, and communities cut off.

The works we propose to do will significantly enhance the flood resilience in Waipawa.

The first step? Early planning – and that’s already underway. From here, we move into the design phase, working through concept plans, then preliminary designs, and finally the detailed design itself over the next few months.

Throughout it all, we’ll be keeping the community up to speed with regular newsletters, website updates and community meetings.