Te Kāuru Upper Ruamāhanga Floodplain Management Plan

Project overview

In October 2023, the Department of the Prime Minister (DPMC) approved $3.5m of funding for the ‘Recovery and Flooding Resilience Works’, aimed at flood protection projects following the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle. This funding has been allocated to catchments within the Eastern Hills and includes the removal of tree debris (predominantly crack willows, salix fragilis) causing blockages in four ‘Eastern Rivers’ in the Wairarapa: 

• Kopuaranga River
• Whangaehu River
• Taueru River
• Whareama River 

This work to remove blockages from these rivers is vital in mitigating the risk of rivers leaving their channels and moving across land, posing a threat to residential and rural areas. 

The Eastern Rivers Crack Willow Removal Project has been split into two phases to allow for seasonal accessibility: 

Phase One: 2023/2024 - Completed May 2024 

So far, Greater Wellington and local contractors have removed 214 blockages from the Kopuaranga and Whareama Rivers, clearing approximately 66km of river channel. This included the removal of 1,100+ trees. The resulting debris, predominately Crack Willow trees (Salix fragilis) is either being mulched or burnt depending on the season. 

Phase Two: Commencing September 2024 

The second phase will focus on all the affected Eastern Rivers and is expected to be completed by 30 June 2025. 

Debris from the trees will be mulched and any native logs will be preserved and gifted to mana whenua. 

Map of Kopuaranga, Whangaehu and Taueru Rivers

River Road, Masterton erosion protection works

The River Road, Masterton project has evolved from the initial planning within the Floodplain Management Plan (see pages 78 and 79) to now include protection at the Masterton District Council closed landfill.  Initially the erosion protection was solely centred around the residential properties, however now the erosion protection covers not only the residential properties but also the cemetery and the Masterton District Council closed landfill.

The project at River Road, Masterton is being completed in three stages. Stage one is the construction of six rock groynes (rock boulders) to protect the Ruamāhanga River from the Masterton District Council closed landfill. This work was completed in June 2023.

An estimated 3,000 plants are being procured for a planting programme at this project site. Rangitāne o Wairarapa will be involved in assisting with the planting activities.

Programme progress is being regularly communicated to partners and stakeholders (including iwi, Fish and Game, Department of Conservation, and Masterton District Council).

Stage two construction, which is a 150m rock revetment (wall) will commence in autumn of 2023 2024 due to the consideration of winter months. The rock revetment is to protect a number of River Road residential properties and starts where the Waipoua and Ruamāhanga Rivers meet (the confluence). A final design has been approved and this work will commence in April 2024 with a completion date by 31 July 2024. 

The third and final stage is to protect the cemetery from further erosion. At present the draft design is for 11 rock groynes.

A rate change proposed in the Te Kāuru Flood Management Plan (FMP) (PDF 26 MB) was recently approved by council in two stages:

• 16 June 2022: New funding method approved
• 30 June 2022:  Annual Plan and rates resolution paper approved.

On 1 July 2022 the rates change came into effect.

This means a targeted rate now applies to all landowners in the catchment.

In the past this rate only applied to riverside land owners. This change was made because the December 2019 Te Kāuru FMP goes beyond river management to provided wider catchment and community benefits. So, it made sense that people who live across the catchment contributed to this.

Before being considered by council, this proposal went through a Revenue and Financing Policy Review. This review process involved holding a public hearing and consulting with the public on the proposed change.

The Upper Ruamahanga River Management Advisory Committee (URRMAC) has held several meetings and workshops to understand the Te Kāuru FMP.

The committee’s recent discussions focused on the Te Kāuru FMP’s vision of allowing the river more room. In the coming months, we will share information with the public and riverside landowners. 

During the COVID-19 alert levels, we worked to obtain funding from the government’s COVID-19 economic stimulus package. This includes funding of shovel ready projects through the Infrastructure Reference Group (IRG), the Ministry for the Environment (MfE), and other agencies. 

MfE Funding – Major Rivers – Riparian Management

A total of 17 funding applications were put forward to the MfE for a variety of environmental activities. The MfE selected two of these applications:

• Wairarapa Moana Wetlands Project 
• Major Rivers – Riparian Management

The Major Rivers – Riparian Management application to the MfE was based on the Te Kāuru Upper Ruamāhanga Floodplain Management Plan, specifically the riparian planting and fencing buffers.

This project will be spread over five years and cost $5 million. It aims to create 35 jobs with 120,000 trees (both willows and natives) to be planted over 100 hectares, with 30 kilometres of fencing. One of the main objectives will be to ensure healthy plant survival rates through pest animal and pest plant control.

Connecting with community and iwi groups is crucial to the success of the project, and we encourage anyone who has an interest in riparian planting to get in touch.

PDU/CIP Funding – River Road, Masterton

During the government’s COVID-19 alert levels 4 and 3, the Flood Protection department submitted applications to the Provisional Development Unit (PDU) for shovel-ready projects. The Provisional Development Unit is now called Kānoa - Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit. 

The successful application was for a number of Hutt Valley erosion edge protection sites, RiverLink (Lower Hutt) river works and Ruamāhanga River scheme River Road, Masterton edge protection works.

The proposed work for the River Road site is based on the Te Kāuru FMP major project response, with an extension of river-edge protection from River Road to (and including) the Masterton District Council’s closed landfill. The River Road projects will cost $2 million over two years, with Kānoa contributing 64% and we will provide the balance 36%.

We have signed agreements with our iwi partners to co-design and work together on this project. We are working on the geotechnical and initial design details.

The Upper Ruamāhanga River Management Advisory Committee (URRMAC) welcomes Cliff Bouton, representing the Waipoua Urban reach. This appointment follows a nomination process held in late 2021. Find out who else is on URRMAC.

We’ve been meeting with URRMAC to discuss the principles of the Flood Management Plan, including what allowing the river more room means in practice. We find people often misunderstand this idea. So, from March to May 2022 we’ll develop a plan to help people understand this concept.

Call us on: 0800 496 734

Email: tekauru@gw.govt.nz

Wellington: 100 Cuba St, Te Aro

Masterton: 34 Chapel Street, Masterton

Upper Hutt: 1056 Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt

Te Kāuru Upper Ruamāhanga Floodplain Management Plan URRMAC Workshop 13 September 2021

Te Kāuru FMP was adopted by Council on 25 June 2019, after extensive public consultation and a hearing process.

The Te Kāuru vision for the catchment is:

“A connected, resilient, prosperous and… Read more here

date_range Published 13 Sep 2021

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TE KĀURU UPPER RUAMĀHANGA PROPOSED FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT PLAN - SUMMARY FOR PUBLIC CONSULTATION

A floodplain management plan is a document that describes the approach to flood and river management over the next 30-40 years. It describes various types of responses that will be… Read more here

date_range Published 01 Mar 2019

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Buffer Management Benefits and Risks report - Prof. Russell Death

The management of rivers for flood prevention and maintenance of ecological health will need to accommodate potential future increases in the size and frequency of floods. Read more here

date_range Published 15 Apr 2020

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Ecological effects of flood management activities in Wairarapa Rivers

Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) has a responsibility to manage the region‟s waterways for a number of purposes including flood protection and maintenance of aquatic ecosystem health. As part of… Read more here

date_range Published 01 Dec 2013

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Te Kauru FMP Audit Report

A detailed audit of the hydrology and hydraulic modelling components of the Te Kauru FMP has been carried out as per the scope of study provided in the RFQ document… Read more here

date_range Published 07 Jun 2019

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If you need any documents referred in the FMP, please contact us for a copy or link to the document.