Work will begin in Nelson this month to provide flood protection 30 per cent higher than the highest flood levels experienced during an August 2022 weather event which caused a stopbank to overtop, a number of culverts under a stopbank to back-flow, and an overflow of the Cleveland Terrace stormwater intake.
Since the 2022 weather event, Nelson City Council has worked to address each of these three issues, with its latest project along a section of the Matai River beside Hanby Park involving a combination of stopbanks and floodwalls designed to manage peak flows of around 380 cubic metres per second (the equivalent of an Olympic swimming pool every 6 seconds!). This is almost 30 percent higher than the flow recorded during the 2022 event.
The project, supported by co-funding from Central Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund administered by Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit, will span 16 months and will focus on forming a barrier along the riverbank. A floodwall will be built on top of an existing stopbank using very strong materials and deep piles that anchor it to the ground, allowing it to withstand the immense forces of a river in flood.
For the full article, see: Flood protection project to handle flows 30% higher
