Climate resilience and flood protection

Flooding is the most common natural hazard we all face in Aotearoa/New Zealand. As the world confronts a changing climate, we can expect the extent of flooding we experience to be affected through variations in rainfall, temperature and sea-level as well as river channel changes.

Between 2020 and 2023 more than $24 million was spent in Waitaha/Canterbury on a programme of flood protection projects thanks to the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment's Kānoa - Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit (REDIU)(external link) and local funding.

These projects are part of the Resilient River Communities initiative(external link) which will saw 55 projects completed nationwide by 2023 with a total of $312 million spent. 

Co-investment programme benefits for Waitaha/Canterbury

Regionally, the strategic flood protection projects funded through this programme are an opportunity to accelerate regional flood management, forming an intergenerational legacy that will benefit Cantabrians for years to come. 

Co-investing with central government offers the opportunity to kick-start projects that would have otherwise taken decades to fund through the current rating districts and undertake works to protect communities from changes that we know are coming. 

Through this programme, Kānoa-REDIU contributed 64 per cent of the cost of each project as a grant. The remaining 36 per cent was co-funded by us through a combination of contributions from partners, operational funding and rates. 

The programme had a strong dual purpose of supporting Canterbury COVID-19 recovery through increasing climate change resilience, also generating employment for local contractors and workers to boost the regional economy. 

Current climate resilience flood protection projects