Project Start Year: 2026
The Jenkins Creek Flood Resilience Improvements project upgrades stopbank and associated flood resilience infrastructure to increase protection to Nelson Airport and the Quarantine Road industrial area in Annesbrook, Nelson.
A new 400m section of stopbank at Nelson Airport is designed to enable the airport to continue operation in a large flood or coastal storm surge event. These works also reduce flood risk to the Regional Maintenance Facility offices and hangar.
The stopbank upgrade at the Quarantine Road industrial area is located at South Pine (Nelson), on the left bank of Jenkins Creek downstream of Pascoe Street. The project upgrades a 340m section of stopbank in poor condition and at risk of breaching during an overtopping event. Eight other commercial properties on the north side of Quarantine Road benefit from this increased flood protection.
Benefits
As at March 2026, Nelson airport employs 26 employees (FTE) and sees more than 900,000 passengers a year through its doors who board an average 60 commercial flights a day. It is a critical transport hub for the region, including both Nelson and Tasman Districts. In February 2018, the airport was put out of service due to flooding along Trent Drive, which cut off access to the airport.
South Pine (Nelson) Limited is a fully owned subsidiary of McAlpines Limited – one of the largest privately owned saw milling, timber and building materials groups in New Zealand, employing over 300 staff. The upgrade of this stopbank effectively mitigates the risk of stopbank breach and potential environmental impacts that would result from inundation of an operational timber processing yard, and adjacent commercial properties.
Adaptation
The new stopbank at Nelson Airport has been designed to provide protection from storm surge and sea level rise over a 50-year timeframe. Upon completion, both stopbanks will have capacity to hold back the most severe river flooding expected up to the year 2090 - the kind that has a 1-in-100 chance of happening in any given year (known as a 1% annual exceedance probability or AEP). This includes an allowance for more intense flooding in the future due to climate change (assuming an RCP 8.5 climate change scenario).
Resilience
The project improves security of access to Nelson Airport. It also addresses the poor condition of the stopbank at South Pine and allows improved maintenance access for the council contractor along these sections of Jenkins Creek.
Collaboration
This project has been co-funded through the Regional Investment Fund (RIF) and Nelson City Council.
Collaboration with the airport considering their future development plans has been undertaken to ensure that the proposed stopbank will integrate with a proposed bridge across Jenkins Creek. The airport has also raised a road immediately adjacent to the stopbank, to the same level as the stopbank crest, to provide continuity of protection.
The Jenkins Creek flood resilience improvements achieve significant improvements in flood protection, stopbank condition and maintenance access arrangements that provide substantial benefits for a key transport hub and industrial area in Annesbrook, Nelson.
