Flood Hazard Mapping

Waipā District Council has undertaken a district-wide flood hazard mapping project to help plan for New Zealand’s changing climate, and the adverse weather events climate change could bring.

Extreme weather events – such as a 1-in-100-year event - could become more common as a likely impact of climate change. More frequent intense rainfall may increase the likelihood of rivers flooding and flash flooding when urban drainage systems are overwhelmed.

As a result, councils across New Zealand are required under the Resource Management Act to take a proactive approach to plan for adverse weather events.

The district-wide flood hazard mapping project helps us to better understand the areas that may be at risk of flooding in a severe weather event.

With this information, we will be able to look more closely at the capacity of our current stormwater and other infrastructure to plan what we will need for the future.

Information gathered during the project will identify if the current stormwater infrastructure meets the Council's present Level of Service and is fit-for-purpose going forward. It will ultimately help us to put the guidelines in place to help protect urban buildings against flood risk in the future through a range of mechanisms like the District Plan, bylaws, building and resource consents.

What area is covered?

The urban areas of Te Awamutu, Cambridge, Pirongia, and Ōhaupō were covered under this project.