Hokitika Flood Protection

The Brief

Use our expertise to help increase the height of the existing stopbank along the Hokitika River to strengthen flood protection and reduce risk to surrounding communities and key infrastructure.

Challenges Identified

The flood protection works are located on the banks of the Hokitika River, alongside a busy railway line and a well-used recreation area. Delivered across multiple stages, the project involves raising the height of the existing embankment to help protect the region from a 1-in-100-year flood event while managing environmental, access and stakeholder constraints. 

What We Did

Following a severe flood in 2021, we were engaged to deliver emergency works to protect the Westland Milk Products Dairy by raising the nearby stopbank. Since then, the project has involved further stages to raise other existing sections of the embankment and improve climate resilience, with expert coordination to minimise disruption to everything from the regionally significant dairy factory to walkers, cyclists and the whitebait fishing season. 

Key Deliverables

• Significant earthworks, as well as modifying existing infrastructure and importing a large amount of quarried rock for armouring 

• Survey, geotechnical investigation and consenting support across all stages 

• Establishment of a network of monitoring bores to assess local geotechnical constraints, including long-term automated groundwater data capture 

• Use of drone surveys and PointCloud modelling to accurately track quantities during fast‑paced emergency works 

• Cloud-based file sharing enabling direct upload of 3D design surfaces to machinery operators, supporting real-time coordination between design and construction 

• Delivery of Stage 1 under a tight timeframe as emergency works, followed by continued collaboration through subsequent stages 

• Ongoing face-to-face engagement and regular communication with stakeholders 

• Moving over 30,000 tonnes of rock from Camelback Quarry and placing it on the riverbank