Infrastructure Quarterly - November 2022

Following central government’s lead and advice, we adopted a COVID-19 stimulus plan. We have trebled our capital expenditure programme and kept our focus on our core infrastructure role which makes up 71 percent of our $1.4 billion spend over the course of our Long-Term Plan. Our expanded capital works programme will deliver projects that support the ongoing COVID-19 recovery and provide the infrastructure renewals and upgrades we need to maintain core services and prepare for our district’s expected growth.

Kāpiti Coast District Council is reviewing our existing stormwater strategy. There have been many changes at a national, regional, and district level since the current strategy was developed in 2008. Managing growth and responding to climate change and Te Mana o te Wai in partnership with iwi are at the heart of the revised stormwater framework. Essentially, we need to find a way to live better with more. More water. More urban development. More growth.
Working together with partners Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai, Ngā Hapū o Ōtaki and Ngāti Toa, and supported by technical experts, a vision, values and outcomes for managing stormwater in our district was developed. These were adopted by Council following community consultation in July 2022.

We are committed to working with our community as we continue to develop the Framework. Specifically, we aim to work with the community regarding the determination of acceptable risk levels for planning, floodplain management and safety purposes; a review of Council’s hydraulic neutrality policy and low-impact urban design principles; and catchment-based objectives for water quality and action plans, including programmes of work.

We reviewed our stormwater capital works programme in 2015, after a series of severe weather events, to help us improve our community’s safety and resilience to flood hazards. After investigating more than 800 flooded locations in the district, we developed a large capital work programme of 240 projects, to be delivered in 45 years. Council approved this programme as part of the Long-Term Plan. We completed about 15 projects by June 2021, and the efficiencies gained, as well as securing more funding for stormwater activity, means the projects will now be delivered over 37 years.

We have recently completed a major stormwater upgrade in Ōtaki Beach and contractors have just started a $1.48 million 12-month upgrade of the stormwater system in Waikanae Beach. These projects are a combination of creating new assets and upgrading or renewing current assets to address flooding in homes, commercial buildings, garages, streets and properties.

Our Takutai Kāpiti coastal adaptation project was set up to get community input into how our district should adapt to coastal changes resulting from climate change. The panel appointed to represent community views is still in the early stages of its work and has not yet reported back to Council. However, we fully expect that their future recommendations will inform management strategies for Council coastal infrastructure and property (like the seawalls) and future District Plan changes.

Whangārei is fortunate to have retained natural open waterways throughout the urban area, although there have been modifications over the years and these natural assets have been neglected. The overarching aim of the Blue Green Network Strategy is to reconnect people with nature through better use and restoration of our waterways (blue) and open spaces (green). It is a wide-reaching strategy touching on all four well-beings, that will ultimately take decades to implement.Whangārei is fortunate to have retained natural open waterways throughout the urban area, although there have been modifications over the years and these natural assets have been neglected. The overarching aim of the Blue Green Network Strategy is to reconnect people with nature through better use and restoration of our waterways (blue) and open spaces (green). It is a wide-reaching strategy touching on all four well-beings, that will ultimately take decades to implement. The programme includes:

• enabling active recreation by introducing shared paths and trails alongside waterways
• undertaking ecological restoration
• fixing infrastructure problems such as fish passage barriers
• treating stormwater discharges to improve water quality
• undertaking flood mitigation projects
• identifying recreation and economic development opportunities adjacent to waterways
• revealing the culture and history of these areas in engaging ways that create a unique identity for Whangārei.

We undertook a process to prioritise and define a holistic and practical programme for the first three to five years with enough detail and confidence that work could commence without delay, such as projects already underway or funded, or ones that could be brought forward to complete larger pieces of work.

Current work is focused on the Lower Waiarohia Stream and the Raumanga Stream. The Lower Waiarohia Stream Loop project is at concept design and investigation stages. A new shared path will be created along with stormwater upgrades, quality treatment and spaces to relax in that also reflect the rich cultural history of the area. We are working closely with Te Parawhau Hapū from the earliest stages, where representatives are also included in the project steering group. Early engagement with adjacent landowners, lessees, and occupants of the coastal marine area was undertaken before any design work to identify critical issues.

On the Lower Waiarohia and Raumanga Streams we have recently undertaken a stream survey alongside a hapū representative where 360-degree video footage was captured on a stream walk to gauge the current state of the waterways, as well as identify priority areas for restoration work or infrastructure upgrades. This provided a fantastic opportunity for all involved to learn from each other, particularly for hapū to share the cultural history of the waterways along the journey, giving us a completely new perspective of our city. This has also prompted discussions on how Te Parawhau could take a lead role where they can exercise their kaitiakitanga responsibilities over waterways within their rohe (area).

The Raumanga shared path project has experienced delays in design, tendering and construction stages due to COVID-19; however, it has also received funding from the government’s Shovel Ready fund which was a response to COVID-19 impacts on the construction sector. Whangārei is dependent on many specialists and equipment from Auckland so the long lockdowns in Auckland impacted our projects too.

Image: Tikipunga Waitaua Bridge after the improvement project. Courtesy Whangārei District Council.

A huge success within the city is that new private developments have turned to face the waterways, seeing the benefits from cleaner water, attractive spaces and the pedestrian and cycle traffic that the Hātea Loop has brought past their doors. Working in the city centre areas requires an understanding of business and commercial property owners’ needs, clear planning of works to minimise disruption, and people from everywhere are interested in what’s happening there, so communication is key.

WDC are moving into a new phase of upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi responsibilities, and giving effect to Te Mana o te Wai, so we are exploring new ways of working to enable a partnership with Te Parawhau Hapū where the Blue Green Network Programme can enable and assist them to build capacity, reconnect with important cultural environments, and practice kaitiakitanga once again.

Due to the success of the Blue Green Network Programme in Whangārei, discussion has begun on how a Blue Green Strategy could benefit all of Te Taitokerau Northland.