16 | West Coast Regional Council - Fulton Hogan: Greymouth Flood Protection T T Karen Phelps Protecting the entire community Greymouth has a long history of flooding, with both the Grey River and local Sawyers Creek inundating the town multiple times. “It will bring up the existing wall up to a consistent design standard including a consistent freeboard level – a factor of safety above the design level.” REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT A major flood protection project is currently in progress in Greymouth, aimed at enhancing the town’s resilience against potential flooding events. The initiative, which will upgrade the existing flood protection scheme to withstand a one-in-150-year flood event, is set to boost confidence in the West Coast’s largest urban centre. “We’ve done the design for the project, a tender has been awarded and the successful contractor, local company MBD Contracting, has started work,” says West Coast Regional Council CEO Darryl Lew. The ambitious project, divided into five stages, will widen and raise the existing flood protection banks encircling the town by up to a metre. “Greymouth is the largest town on the West Coast and has a lot of the services such as the main commercial centre, main hospital and government departments for the West Coast. It will bring up the existing wall up to a consistent design standard including a consistent freeboard level – a factor of safety above the design level,” says Darryl. Greymouth has a long history of flooding, with both the Grey River and local Sawyers Creek inundating the town multiple times over the past 150 years. The town is also vulnerable to coastal inundation, making this upgrade crucial for its long-term sustainability and development, he says. The current flood protection scheme was built in 1989-90 following two 100-year floods in 1988 and the new project aims to provide at least 70 years of enhanced security. This includes additional protection for key infrastructure such as the recently built Te Nikau Regional Hospital bordering Waterwalk Road. Darryl says that there is currently “variability and inconsistency across the current scheme,” which the project aims to address. The upgrade will involve the removal of vegetation and topsoil, and the construction of stop banks and timber retaining walls. A key feature of the project is providing an additional 600mm of freeboard on the existing stop banks from Richmond Quay to Anzac Park, aligning with previously raised sections along Mawhera Quay and Short Street, which were undertaken in 2019-20. The Greymouth flood scheme is being spearheaded by a formal joint committee that includes representatives from both the West Coast Regional Council and Grey District Council (GDC). Darryl says that this collaborative approach ensures a comprehensive and well-coordinated effort to protect the town. He acknowledges that the project has been made possible through a partnership between local and central government. In 2020, the council secured just over $6 million in government funding via the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) for flood protection. The funding was bolstered by post-Covid economic stimulus packages. While work is already 40% complete on stage three of the project, unexpected ground conditions have led to a temporary shift in focus, which has seen the team deployed to start work on stage one until the issues are resolved. The timing of this flood protection upgrade coincides with several significant developments in Greymouth. GDC is planning a multimillion-dollar library development in the low-lying CBD, while other new projects are also underway. These include the anchor Pounamu Pathway centre development at the CBD entrance and a new retail development by the Mawhera Incorporation in Mackay St. Darryl says the flood protection project is part of a larger series of initiatives aimed at enhancing resilience across the West Coast region including upgrading the Waiho River flood protection at Franz Josef, an upgrade to the Hokitika River scheme and a brand new flood protection scheme project at Westport. The Westport flood protection project, in particular, is a significant undertaking with a total budget of $23.97 million. It involves building floodwalls and stop banks to mitigate direct threats from the Buller and Orowaiti rivers. The project combines earth stop banks, ‘planter-box’ stop banks, concrete floodwalls, wooden floodwalls, and portable flood barriers, covering a total length of 16km. 0800 999 333 hello@do.nz www.do.nz Christchurch / Timaru Greymouth / Nelson Land Surveying / Resource Management Environmental Science / Structural Engineering Geotechnical Engineering / Civil Engineering Proud to be carboNZero certified PROUD TO PARTNER WITH THE WEST COAST REGIONAL COUNCIL
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