The Rangitāiki Floodway project is a multi-stage project to take pressure off the flood-prone Rangitāiki River by diverting some of its flow.
Increasing the capacity of the Floodway reduces flood levels in the Rangitāiki River from upstream of Edgecumbe to the river mouth. This will in turn reduce pressure on Rangitāiki River stopbanks during large flood events.
Stages in the Rangitāiki Floodway Upgrade Project started in 2011.
Stage 1: Channel widening. Physical works were completed in the 2011/12 construction season ($3.2 million).
Stage 2a: Channel widening. Physical works were completed in the 2013/14 construction season ($2.7 million).
Stage 2b: Channel widening. Physical works completed in the 2014/15 construction season ($2.5 million).
Stage 3: Stopbank raising. Physical works completed in the 2015/16 construction season ($2.05 million).
Stage 3a: Channel widening and wick drains. Physical works completed in the 2016/17 construction season ($2.4 million).
Stage 4: Channel widening. Works were completed over 2017-2019 ($4.3 million).
Stage 5: Bifurcation, bridge and road works planned for 2018/19 construction season ($2.5 million budgeted).
Stage 6: Stopbank raising and spillway in 2019/20 ($1.36 million budgeted).
Stage 7: Spillway upgrade in 2020/21 ($2.56 million budgeted).
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Rangitaiki Floodway Stage 4 works completed in December 2018.
Initial site preparation works started on Monday 25 February on the Reid’s Canal bifurcation which is Stage 5 of the multi-stage Rangitāiki Floodway Upgrade Project commenced in 2011.
The purpose of this stage is to create a bifurcation cut from the left bank of Reid’s Central Canal across Thornton Hall Road to provide a second outlet into the Rangitaiki River and out through the river mouth. These works, which are expected to be completed within six months, also include road alignment works and a new bridge to carry Thornton Hall Road over the new canal outlet.
Following selection of the successful tenderer for the Rangitāiki Floodway Stage 5 works, a karakia ceremony was held at the Reid’s Canal bifurcation with the Rangitāiki River on Monday 18 February, 2019.
Following selection of the successful tenderer for the Rangitāiki Floodway Stage 5 works, a karakia ceremony was held at the Reid’s Canal bifurcation with the Rangitāiki River on Monday 18 February with representatives of Ngāi Taiwhakaea, the works contractor, the project’s archaeology advisor and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council in attendance.
Around 40 interested community members, representing a number of stakeholder groups, turned out on Saturday to hear an update on the consultation process for the upgrade of the Rangitāiki Spillway.
The spillway – the mechanism to divert floodwater from the river into the Floodway - is planned for upgrade in 2020/21 and in recent months Council’s engineering team has been engaging with directly affected landowners and the wider community around the options for the spillway design.
Thank you to those people who have been involved in finding out about the options for the design of the Rangitāiki Floodway spillway and potential ponding areas.
On Saturday, 24 November, starting at 10am there will be a further information session at the Rangitāiki Cosmopolitan Club to inform interested parties about the preferred option that will be put to Council in December.
We will be asking those attending to give an indication of their level of support for the proposed option.
Drier spring weather has allowed the work to start again on Stage 4 of the Rangitāiki Floodway Upgrade Project after it was put on hold over winter.
Meanwhile, consultation with affected landowners and the wider community over the design options to upgrade the spillway section of the Floodway is in its final stages before a recommendation is made to Council on the preferred option (lower fixed crest weir or inflatable rubber dam). The spillway is the structure that diverts floodwater from the Rangitāiki River into the floodway and its construction and associated stopbank widening will be the final stage of the project. Keep an eye on this page for publication of an information session planned for mid-November 2018.
As part of the consultation underway on the Rangitāiki Spillway, a site visit was held in Edgecumbe on 11 August this year, with over 30 people attending, including residents of property adjoining the floodway and interested members of the community.
Those who came along on the bus trip out to the spillway off Hydro Road appreciated the chance to see the current spillway up close and hear about the options available. Once the preferred option is confirmed by Regional Council, it will go through a consent process. Construction is anticipated to start in 2020. The spillway construction will mark the final stage in this multi-stage project.