Wherever Kāinga Ora enables new homes to be built, our first task is reviewing and redesigning the infrastructure that protects the environment and keeps communities safe. As soon as the heavy rain hit Auckland on Friday the 27th of January, our civil works partner, Piritahi, who is tasked with improving and building new infrastructure, leapt into action to check on families in our development neighbourhoods and keep a close eye on how the infrastructure was coping.

Auckland’s flooding crisis delivered double the monthly rainfall for January in a single day – 539ml. It was good to see that the infrastructure performed as it is designed to, despite the unprecedented rain event. These practical results align with media analysis around thoughtful intensification, provision for stormwater and how ‘spongy spaces’ improve urban resilience. We are proud of the role we, alongside Piritahi, are playing in demonstrating these ideas in action.

Greenslade Reserve in Northcote Development is a recently completed stormwater retention basin as well as a sports ground and park. It performed very well to collect water and avoid it reaching more homes. On Friday night and early Saturday it was flooded. By late Saturday morning, all the surface water had drained through and families were playing on the grass.


Greenslade Reserve at around 6pm on Friday 27th January, doing what it is designed to.


Greenslade Reserve late Saturday morning with people playing on the grass.

Awataha Greenway at Northcote also performed well with only minor surface water erosion damage.