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Tangaroa Restoration

About the project

The project aims to resolve flooding issues currently affecting the lower reaches of the Tangaroa catchment, as well as improve water quality, restore native fish habitat and biodiversity, and return mauri to an awa (river) of cultural significance. The work takes a holistic approach to stormwater management, with restoration across a range of land ownership within the awa corridor. The land within the catchment is either Māori land, or owned by Ministry of Education or NPDC.

 

Tangaroa catchment. The map shows the current alignment of the stream and the section at the lower reach that the project will reinstate.

Issues in the Tangaroa catchment

Vision for the Tangaroa Stream

Clean, clear and flowing/running

Tangaroa used to be a healthy open stream and the reinstatement of that continuous and clean flow is important for the reconnection of the community to the stream.

 

Proposed work

Timeline and staging of the project

The delivery timeframe of Tangaroa Restoration is five years, from 2021 to 2026. The first year (2021/22) has been focused on design and consultation. The project has been co-designed in partnership through the Waitara Stormwater Working Party, formed by NPDC staff and representatives of hapū and iwi.

Physical works start in 2022/23, beginning with the construction of the first section of pipeline at Richmond Street, between the marae entrance and Princess Street. 

The project budget is $15.8m, with NPDC contributing $14m from the Waitara Stormwater Programme and the the Ministry for the Environment contributing $1.8m through the Freshwater Improvement Funds programme. The majority of the NPDC contribution is going towards the stormwater infrastructure upgrades.

The MfE contribution to the project is to fund the restoration work, and it is linked to the achievement of specific objectives, related to the empowerment of the local community to exercise kaitiakitanga of the stream, creation of employment and education opportunities, and restoration of the cultural and ecological values of the awa.