Flood protection and drainage costs may change for many urban and rural properties on the Clutha and Taieri flood and drainage schemes
Learn moreFlood protection and drainage costs may change for many urban and rural properties on the Clutha and Taieri flood and drainage schemes
Lower Taieri
The Lower Taieri liaison group was established in late 2024 and now has in place a regular cycle of at least twice-yearly meetings.
The Lower Taieri Flood Protection Scheme mitigates the risk of flooding to the Taieri plain, including the townships of Mosgiel, Outram and Henley. It also protects critical infrastructure such as key transport routes (state highway and railway networks), Dunedin airport, and power and three waters infrastructure.
Along with the East and West Taieri drainage schemes, the Lower Taieri Flood Protection Scheme was the first to be developed in Otago – works started in 1870. It is a complex network affected by many rivers. The scheme uses ponding areas to detain peak flows and ease pressure on the scheme downstream, minimising the risk that the scheme will fail. Silver Stream, Waipori River and the Ōwhiro Stream are tributaries to this lower portion of the Taiari/Taieri River.
The East Taieri Drainage Scheme is split into two areas by the Silver Stream, which flows south-west across the Taieri Plain. Drains on the northern side of the Silver Stream generally flow toward what is called the Upper Ponding area.
Drains on the southern side of the Silver Stream flow toward the Lower Ponding area. When the flow of the Taiari/Taieri River is low, these drains flow out to the river by gravity. Gravity gates close and pump stations are used when flows in the Taiari/Taieri River are high.
The West Taieri Drainage Scheme drains part of the Lower Taieri Flood Protection Scheme – the area bounded by the Taiari/Taieri River, Lake Waipori and the West Taieri Contour Channel. A small part of the scheme lies in the Henley Floodway.
The West Taieri area differs from the other drainage schemes in that water must be pumped out – gravity cannot be used to drain water out of the scheme. A significant portion of the scheme lies at or below 1 m of sea level. There are pump stations at Waipori, Henley and Lake Ascog.
The Lower Taieri liaison group was established in late 2024 and now has in place a regular cycle of at least twice-yearly meetings.
The purpose of the liaison group is to act as an informal committee who work alongside ORC to:
The Chair of the Liaison Group hosts a public annual general meeting, the meeting details and agenda will be listed on the Events and meetings page.
The Lower Taieri Flood Protection and Drainage Scheme Liaison Group acts as an informal committee who work alongside Otago Regional Council.
There are six seats available for community representatives.
Three seats are allocated to each of the East and West Taieri Schemes, as well as representatives from the Mosgiel Taieri Community Board, Dunedin International Airport, and from the ORC.
|
Representatives |
Number in group |
|
East Taieri |
3 |
|
West Taieri |
3 |
|
Dunedin International Airport |
1 |
|
Mosgiel Taieri Community Board |
1 |
|
ORC Councillor |
1 |
|
Total |
9 |
ORC will also continue to actively engage with mana whenua on key issues relating to these schemes, allowing participation in decision-making, and support in the development of capability.
Nominations will be called for by the liaison group as positions are available or when terms end. Nominations are open to everyone who lives in the scheme area. The group is able to co-opt members to the group where relevant.
Area | Representative |
|---|---|
West Taieri | David Wilson |
West Taieri | Matt Kerr |
West Taieri | Colin Scurr |
East Taieri | Julie Struthers |
East Taieri | William Kirkland |
East Taieri | Simon Parks |
GM Infrastructure & Operations, Dunedin Airport | Nick Rodger |
Mosgiel Taieri Community Board representative | Andrew Sutton |
Outram* | Neville Goodsir |
*At the 2026 annual general meeting Neville Goodsir was co-opted onto the group to represent Outram
Reports that have been presented to council can be found on the Meetings & Events page. Search for the date of the council meeting, and reports will be in the agenda or as supplementary documents.
May 2025
PDF | 21 MB
May 2025
PDF | 243 KB
October 2025
PDF | 1 MB
October 2025
PDF | 285 KB
March 2026
PDF | 820 KB
March 2026
PDF | 308 KB
ORC owns and manages several other flood protection schemes and drainage schemes as well as a combined flood protection and drainage scheme.
They are:
ORC also owns but commissions external management for parts of the Lower Waitaki River Control Scheme.
Please feel free to reach out to ORC’s engineering team to confirm whether you live in one of the three scheme areas on engineering@orc.govt.nz
ORC owns and manages several other flood protection schemes and drainage schemes as well as a combined flood protection and drainage scheme.
They are:
ORC also owns but commissions external management for parts of the Lower Waitaki River Control Scheme.
The West Taieri Liaison Group was disestablished in October 2014 – at the time this decision was made as it was felt that the groups were no longer serving their purpose. They also lacked representation from a range of other stakeholders including mana whenua, large infrastructure providers such as Dunedin Airport or Community Board representatives.
From approximately 2019 onwards, following the discontinuation of previous liaison groups, the Council has been undertaking annual drop-in sessions in Balclutha, Mosgiel and Outram to engage with the community on activities undertaken across the schemes. While this has had some success, the approach has had some limitations.
These limitations were raised through feedback with the community and included that the drop-in style format did not provide an opportunity to discuss in detail the expenditure and decisions on some work programmes for both capital and operational work or have input into future work programmes.
As agreed by representatives of the liaison committee, the liaison group will meet no less that twice a year, to coincide with the development of draft annual plan budgets and following the receipt of public feedback on proposals prior to Council adoption. This will generally be between May and July and October and December. The time and location of meetings shall be agreed upon by representatives of the liaison group.
Representatives in the liaison group are able to submit on draft work programmes and rating proposals in the ORC’s Annual Plan or Long-Term Plan. The liaison group has no authority to commit the ORC to any investment path or capital and operating expenditure. The liaison group will operate in such a way as to not compromise the ORC’s freedom to deliberate and make such decisions as it deems appropriate.
Given the significance of the scheme to certain stakeholders, ORC has created specific positions for representatives of the following groups, these include:
This has been done to ensure these stakeholders have a seat at the table to be part of discussions and to ensure their representative groups are involved in decision making.
Yes, voting is held in person at an AGM, or special meeting. You will need to be present to vote.
Nominees are expected to attend; however, apologies will be accepted by nominees who cannot make it to the meeting, and they will be able to be elected to the liaison group.
Nominations to join the liaison group are called for when a position becomes available, or when the scheduled election cycle occurs.
If there are more nominees than positions, an election will be held at the AGM. The nominees who receive the most votes at the AGM will be elected to the liaison group.
As agreed by representatives of the liaison committee, but no less that twice a year, to coincide with the development of draft annual plan budgets and following the receipt of public feedback on proposals prior to Council adoption. This will generally be between October and December and May and July.
In addition, a public annual general meeting will be held for each scheme and shall be chaired by the Chair of the Liaison Group.
Membership of the Liaison Group is voluntary and as such is unpaid.
The Liaison Group will:
If you have any questions around the flood protection and drainage schemes, the liaison group, or the nomination process, please don't hesitate to reach out.
You can email us at customerservices@orc.govt.nz
Give your feedback using our online contact us form
Or call us freephone on 0800 474 082 Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm
The Lower Taieri Plain has a long history of flooding, and development of drainage and flood protection works goes back to the early 1900s.
The East Taieri Drainage Scheme, divided by Silver Stream, directs northern drains to the Upper Ponding area and southern drains to the Lower Ponding area. Low Taieri River flow uses gravity drainage; high flows need pump stations.
The West Taieri Drainage Scheme, part of the Lower Taieri Flood Protection Scheme, is bordered by the Taieri River, Lake Waipori, and the West Taieri Contour Channel. Unlike other schemes, it relies entirely on pump stations at Waipori, Henley, and Lake Ascog due to its low elevation, often at or below sea level.
