Thursday 25 May 2023
Site Visits depart from Cordis following the conclusion of the “Our Recent Flooding” Plenary Session.
If you have already registered for the conference and would like to add a site visit, please email us and let us know which visit you would like to join. This cost for this is $45.00 inc GST.
Please note that closed in shoes and hi-vis are required for these site visits.
Site Visit One: Drury South and Awakeri Wetlands 11:35am – 4:00pm SOLD OUT
This site visit will take us approximately 30 minutes away from the city centre, starting with a visit to the Drury South Central Wetland, followed by a stop at the Awakeri Wetlands on the return journey.
Located in South Auckland, the Drury South Precinct is a 361ha mixed-use subdivision. Stormwater management is delivered via treatment train approach using a mixture of treatment wetlands and swales.The central wetland is roughly 3.5 ha and complex – it’s located within an active floodplain of the Hingaia Stream and adjacent to a significant ecological area. During early design stages, the design team met with mana whenua groups and worked closely with artist Ted Ngataki to incorporate the concept of an eel into the wetland geometry. The eel has particular significance – they are indigenous to the area and played a key role in traditional Māori diet and trade. The traditional symbolism defined through mana whenua engagement resulted in a unique aesthetic for the wetland while bringing cultural identity and meaning to the Drury South site. This site visit will showcase the central wetland and include a short walk around the wetland extent. This project won the Pipeline and Civil Project Award at the Water New Zealand Stormwater 2022 Conference.
We will then head to the Awakeri Wetlands. The Takanini Integrated Stormwater Solution is one of New Zealand’s largest stormwater projects. The project encompasses several stages including Artillery Drive Tunnel, Grove Road Culvert, McLennan Wetlands improvements and Awakeri Wetlands. The Awakeri Wetlands forms the fourth stage of a greater scheme to provide stormwater servicing for the Takanini south-east area. The 3km urban wetland provides water quality treatment and creating a habitat for native birds, lizards and fish species. The wetland channel has used an innovative design to recreate an ancient kauri repo. Giant ancient rakau (kauri logs) uncovered during construction have been left in place. The environment has also been enhanced by the planting of over 150,000 eco-sourced plants and trees, and reintroducing two previously extinct plant species back into the area. This part of the site visit will include approximately 1.5km of walking.
Site Visit Two: Te Auaunga Oakley Creek 11:35am – 2:30/3:00pm SOLD OUT
Te Auaunga is an award winning Auckland Council Healthy Waters project in Mt Roskill. The project restored 1.5km of Te Auaunga Oakley Creek, daylighted seven piped tributaries, restored eight hectares of open space, and provided water quality treatment of the contributing catchment. The project includes shared pathways and pedestrian bridges, community orchards, an outdoor classroom, and community fale and atea space. These upgrades saw the transformation of the waterway from a concrete-lined, fast-flowing channel to a naturalised, meandering stream replete with native planting. A central focus of this upgrade was stormwater and flooding management, as surrounding properties were known to flood following large rain events. Significant social and cultural dimensions to the design of the upgrade emerged through engagement with mana whenua, the establishment of a Community Advisory Group and several innovative social procurement processes.
Natural play areas were introduced, with ngā taonga tākaro to interpret the environmental and cultural narratives of the site. Collaborative design was undertaken with mana whenua, the local community, Local Boards, CCOs, HNZC, schools, artists, and the Auckland Council ‘family’. This was facilitated through design workshops, a community liaison group, governance meetings, public open days, and school workshops to ensure all views were considered within the project objectives and final design.
The site visit will walk us along the 1.5km stream restoration in Walmsley Park and Underwood Park.
Site Visit Three: Te Ara Awataha Greenway 11:35am – 2:30/3:00pm SOLD OUT
Northcote’s new greenway follows the path of the original Awataha Stream. The site visit will take us to two of the completed stages – Greenslade Reserve, and the School Edge. The greenway forms a network of parks, public spaces and quiet streets that provide a safe and healthy environment for people, plants, and wildlife.
Greenslade Reserve has the Awataha Stream running along its edge and forms a key part of the greenway. The project daylit the stream, added a wetland and the existing reserve lowered and upgraded to provide the area with an improved sporting facility, new public spaces, and act as a flood storage to take pressure off the downstream network.
The School Edge daylighting is downstream of Greenslade reserve. Water from the existing stormwater pipe running alongside the schools was opened up and recreated as the Awataha stream channel. The stream and its banks have a gentle gradient, making it easy to get to, and away from, the water. Access points are controlled by planting and features such as stepping stones. Existing infrastructure was retained to control the volume of water entering the stream.
Mana whenua, local schools and community groups in Northcote have been integral to the development of Te Ara Awataha. The ongoing involvement of these groups has meant that alongside the built infrastructure – there are also cultural and social benefits to the project.
The site visit will walk approximately 1km along the completed stages of the greenway.