Progress continues with NZ flood recovery
Feb 21, 2024
Following the devastating flooding from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, Watercare is acknowledging the ongoing recovery efforts one year on.
Flooding from the cyclone saw Tāmaki Makaurau’s water and wastewater infrastructure suffering extensive damage. “The intensity and volume of the rain in both summer storm events caused a huge number of landslips – some which took out watermains, wastewater pipes and caused issues in our dam catchments,” Watercare asset upgrades and renewals general manager Suzanne Lucas said.
“Some issues weren’t immediately apparent, with new damage reports coming in for months afterward, totalling more than 200 individual issues. “A year on, we’re still deeply involved in our recovery programme.”
Lucas noted that 60 of the infrastructure issues have been resolved, with 16 repairs currently ready for execution however, a lot of work remains in the planning phase and is expected to extend through to 2025. As 2023 was Auckland’s wettest year on record, Lucas said this continued to impact recovery efforts. “Access to damaged sites often proved challenging, and we’ve had to get innovative to transport materials and equipment to sites,” she said.
“In Beach Haven, we had to transport equipment for our wastewater pipe repairs by barge, and in our Upper Nihotupu Dam catchments, we used helicopters for some of the machinery.” With an estimated cost of $100 million, the flood recovery programme has had more than $20 million spent already with an expected expenditure of $80 million over the next two years. “We were already spending more than $1 billion this financial year – our biggest annual infrastructure investment to date – and of course the flood recovery work was unforeseen and unbudgeted,” Lucas said.
“This work couldn’t wait so we’ve reprioritised our infrastructure delivery programme to enable it.”
More News and Articles
Jul 24, 2024
News
UK utilities place multiple orders for settlement tank technology
Northumbrian Water, Southern Water, and Dŵr Cymru upgrading wastewater sites
Three UK water utilities have agreed orders for the installation of a total of six conical settlement …
Jul 22, 2024
Article
Reusing wastewater, rethinking water: Maharashtra's roadmap
How Maharashtra turns wastewater into a resource
Water resource management is a critical issue globally, and in India, the state of Maharashtra is pioneering efforts to regulate and …
Jul 19, 2024
News
Kansas City advances fire hydrant leak detection technology
An acoustic fixed-base pipe monitoring technology that uses fire hydrants to host multi-sensor devices, has already found more than 30 leaks for Kansas City Water, says Lou Rossetti …
Jul 17, 2024
News
When two bores right a wrong
The Edge Underground team is adamant: there is always a risk of things going wrong on a trenchless project, even for the most prepared contractor.
Experience and having the right equipment can be the difference between …
Jul 15, 2024
News
Adapting to a region’s growing water and wastewater needs
Gippsland Water has completed two major projects to provide local communities with water security. Trenchless Australasia takes a look at the two projects helping increase water supply …
Jul 12, 2024
News
Connections made in Glastonbury
Difficult ground conditions called for a specialist solution when new PE pipes for potable water services had to be installed underneath two, 10-metre road crossings in the grounds of the UK’s ultimate music festival …
Jul 10, 2024
Article
The Water-Energy Nexus: Interdependence and Challenges
Niclas Andersson, CEO of AirWater2All, explains the connection between water and energy. The importance of this connection and the areas in which it needs to be considered are explained …
Jul 08, 2024
News
Minimising cultural impacts with trenchless technology
Yarra Valley Water is leveraging the benefits of trenchless technology to lessen impacts on the Upper Darebin Creek branch sewer project.
The project consists of building a 2.7km sewer pipe …
Jul 05, 2024
News
SprayWall: Reinforcing Underground Infrastructure with Unmatched Strength
In the trenchless technology industry, finding a rehabilitation solution that offers ease of installation and exceptional structural integrity is paramount.
For three decades, …
Jul 01, 2024
News
“Don’t let stereotypes hold you back”
Trenchless Australasia sat down with Rob Carr project manager Marie Piette to discuss her career and work at the microtunnelling contracting company.
From Norway to Cambodia and now Perth, Western Australia, …
Jun 28, 2024
News
Transforming Wastewater: Towards Climate-Neutral Sewage Treatment
Baden-Württemberg’s Minister President Winfried Kretschmann recently toured the Büsnau Training and Research Sewage Treatment Plant, where a pioneering project led by researchers …
Jun 26, 2024
News
Bothar advances with significant new contracts
Having commenced work on the Fitzroy to Gladstone Pipeline earlier this year, Bothar Boring and Tunnelling has announced the award of further contracts as part of its ongoing collaboration with …
Contact
Trenchless Australasia
379 Docklands Dr,
VIC 3008 Docklands
Australia
Phone:
+61 3 9690 8766