Marlborough’s flood protection held up well during two significant weather events which impacted the region in quick succession in June/July 2025 – but there is important repair work still to be done.

Council’s Infrastructure and Community Facilities committee received the June/July 2025 Wairau River flood event damage report yesterday which included details of the cost of repair works.

The weather events triggered high flows not only in the Wairau River but also the Waihopai, Taylor, Upper and Lower Ōpaoa, Spring Creek, Picton, Waikawa and Awatere catchments. The June event caused minor to moderate damage to stopbanks, channels and drainage infrastructure across the district with many of these impacts made worse by the July event.

Senior Rivers Operations Engineer Gregor Punzel spoke to the committee about the extensive emergency works already completed and the high priority repairs remaining.

“While the stopbank scheme performed well overall, in some areas during the June event, including the stopbank at the confluence of the Waihopai and Wairau River, we were left with no freeboard, meaning water filled to the top of the stopbank.

“The medium-sized 12 July event also exacerbated some of the damage experienced in the first flood with not enough time in between the weather events to do the repairs that were needed.

“It is important we progress the remaining high priority works as soon as practicable to reduce the risk of further erosion and potential damage to critical stopbank infrastructure,” Mr Punzel said.

Chief Financial Officer Geoff Blake outlined the associated costs and funding required to progress the remainder of the flood repairs.

The total costs are estimated at $11.5M. Of this up to $1M is expected to be recoverable through the Local Authority Protection Programme (LAPP) and $4.4M from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The remaining $6.1M needs to be funded by Council.

To manage this cost without impacting rates, the committee agreed Council will take out a five‑year Infrastructure Upgrade Reserve‑funded loan. Councillors noted this allowed time for the Emergency Events Reserve to recover some of its funding capacity for future events. A contingency of $2.9M is also signalled in case repair requirements increase.

The 27 June flood was the third largest on record in the Wairau River, peaking at 4,400 cubic metres per second, just below the scheme’s design capacity. The Taylor River in central Blenheim experienced the third highest flood on record and in the Awatere River, it was the highest ever recorded flow - a one in 100-year event.

Lower Terrace Renwick residents were asked to prepare for evacuation and Spring Creek township was evacuated as a precautionary measure due to a known fault in the Peninsula Road stopbank. Work is already underway to repair and rebuild this flood protection.

Following the weather events, stormwater pumping systems in Blenheim and surrounding rural areas were required. In some locations, including parts of the Lower Wairau, pumping continued for several weeks to clear residual surface flooding.

The committee’s decision is subject to ratification at the full Council meeting on 2 April 2026.

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