Latest news
Updated 15 November 2024
Following The flooding events of May 2023 Council have committed to collaborating with the Waihi beach community through the community board, Waihi beach SWAT and Te Whānau a Tauwhao (hāpu of Otawhiwhi Marae). The purpose of this Liaison group is to:
- Address maintenance issues, both perceived and actual.
- Provide a risk-based approach to stormwater management at Waihi Beach.
- Address flooding issues in line with Councils Level of Service .
- Improve community awareness and resilience on stormwater issues and flood risks.
- Better understand the long-term risk to the community and long-term potential solutions.
- Delivery of large capital projects to address flooding issues.
The Liaison Group considered community feedback and compiled a list of Capital projects, maintenance tasks, community communication and process reviews. An update of this list is here. Waihi Beach Stormwater Project List
The Liaison Group undertook a detailed optioneering process to assess the feasibility of flood relief projects in high-risk areas, the outcome of this works is that Council recently approved the Waihi Beach Stormwater Liaison Group submission to the Long Term Plan (LTP), Waihi Beach Stormwater Internal Submission aiming to align stormwater improvements with our community’s highest needs and priorities. This submission reflects extensive work by the group to ensure that our stormwater projects are both effective and efficient.
Our main approach involves directing available LTP funds to the most cost-effective flood relief projects. Key initiatives include:
- Brighton Road Diversion & Darley Drain Outlet Improvements
- Wilson Park/The Crescent Stormwater Enhancements
- Critical Renewals such as the Wallnutt Ave pipe and Beach Road boardwalk
Additionally, we prioritized projects essential for meeting regulatory standards, like the Waihi Beach Earth Dam and One-Mile Creek Flow Path Improvements.
Importantly, all reallocated funds are still dedicated to stormwater improvements within Waihi Beach. These reallocations are directed toward underfunded or re-scoped projects, ensuring the funds are used effectively to address the area’s critical needs. For projects with uncertainties—such as the Maranui Diversion and Two-Mile Creek Upper Catchment Attenuation—we recommend continuing the design phase. This will help refine their scope for potential inclusion in the next LTP cycle, after a comprehensive district-wide review of stormwater service levels.
We’ve also considered feedback regarding the deferral of some major stormwater projects. In some cases, delays stem from the need to confirm project scope and service levels. However, by focusing on achievable projects within the next few years, we’re laying a strong foundation for future improvements.
Background
Waihī Beach is a special town, located in a unique environment - but that environment brings its own set of challenges for the people who live there. It’s low lying, with little to no natural drainage and is close to the coastline – these factors combined make it difficult to drain stormwater away from the town during heavy rain. Because of this, some areas of Waihī Beach will always have a level of flooding.
We’re working with the Waihī Beach community to prioritise and plan a range of projects that will help provide relief from flooding within the Northern catchments of the town. Our focus is on ensuring that we’re making progress on the most important projects as quickly as possible to keep you safe. Each upgrade is aligned with our agreed 'Level of Service' which is to protect habitable floors from flooding in a 10% Annual Exceedance Probability (AEP) event or 10% likelihood of an event occurring in any given year - meaning these projects should help reduce the frequency of flooding but are unlikely to eliminate all flooding.
These webpages will be your hub for the upcoming projects aimed at safeguarding the Waihī Beach community's future, and a list of what maintenance we’re doing regularly.
