The Waimakariri Flood Protection project has claimed GOLD at the 55th ACE Awards held in Auckland on 25 November 2020.

Consultants Good Earth Matters provided ten years of engagement and delivery expertise on this significant project for their client Environment Canterbury.

The project began some 15 years ago when it was identified that the risk to Christchurch from a significant flood event in the Waimakariri River had the potential to cause more than $8 billion worth of damage to the city and parts of the Selwyn and Waimakariri Districts.

The project involved upgrading 35 kilometres of primary stopbanks, construction of 25 kilometres of new secondary stopbanks, which included the extraction and placement of more than 800,000 m3 of river gravel and the positioning of 260,000 tonnes of rock armour protection.

The award judges commented that the successful outcome of the project was heavily reliant on the strong working relationship that developed between Environment Canterbury and Good Earth Matters.

The project was completed under budget and well inside the expected timeframe. At the same time, the stakeholder engagement strategy implemented by Good Earth Matters was instrumental in developing a considerable amount of community goodwill.

ACE New Zealand CEO Paul Evans said, “This ten year, $40m project was completed one year ahead of schedule, which is a remarkable outcome. Furthermore, the genuine approach to stakeholder engagement was instrumental in ensuring a fit-for-purpose outcome that works for the community.”

Good Earth Matters carried out the design and consultation for the Waimakariri Flood Protection project for the client, Environment Canterbury Regional Council.

About the awards:

The ACE Awards recognise consulting and engineering projects that achieve the highest level of innovation and excellence that result in outstanding outcomes. The judging panel evaluates the submissions, conducts client interviews and tours project sites. This work is then reviewed by a group of peers, which makes the Awards the pinnacle of achievement in the consulting and engineering sector. In 2020, 25 projects were submitted from a broad range of disciplines.

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