Waiwhetū Stream

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Waiwhetū Stream draft flood maps

Rivers and streams are important features in the Hutt Valley. They provide a valuable connection to the environment, but they also create a risk of flooding. Despite the current water restrictions in place, flood risk still exists. 

Flooding is likely to become more common as climate change brings more severe weather. So, understanding flood risk is more important than ever.  

Draft maps have been created to understand flood risk    

Data, community insights, expert advice and the latest technology are used to create maps that show how river flooding would impact the community.   

They will do this to help improve public safety and reduce the risk of costly flood damage to property by:   

• Encouraging people who live in areas where flooding could happen to get flood ready.   
• Preventing people from building in areas where flooding could happen.   
• Informing how flood risk will be managed.  

Our focus in these maps    

These maps focus on understanding the likely spread and depth of flood waters in a significant, but infrequent, flood from the Waiwhetū Stream.    

People often refer to a flood of this size as a '1-in-100-year flood,' but we call it a 1% annual exceedance probability flood. This means there's a 1% chance that a flood of this size could happen in any given year. It's important to understand that it doesn't mean this type of flood occurs exactly once every 100 years.

What do these maps show?   

One map shows the depth of flooding that would occur during a 1% AEP event in today’s climate. The other map shows an increased flood risk with the predicted effects of climate change.

What’s next?   

The finalised maps will be provided to Hutt City Council for inclusion in the proposed District Plan in the middle of this year. Before we do that, we would like your feedback. If you notice any discrepancies between these maps and your personal experiences with flooding in the area, please let us know by coming to speak to us at the Riverbank Market on 16 March and 23 March 2024. We are collecting feedback on these maps from 11 to 31 March 2024.

Waiwhetū Flood Hazard

For more information about the current flood mapping in the area, please visit our flood mapping site.