MORE THAN A DRAIN; THE ECOLOGICAL SURPRISE OF HARRISONS CUT DRAIN
Stormwater Conference 2023
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Gareth John, Project Manager, Tauranga City Council
The Harrisons Cut drain (from Papamoa Beach Road to the foreshore) was severely damaged in a storm event back in August 2018. The embankment above the drain has an access road to a car parking area and boat ramp (including beach access). This drain suffered large scale erosion from the storm event and would likely fail in another such event that would likely result in the road collapsing and access to the car parking area being cut-off. As such, in 2019 Tauranga City Council (TCC) decided to look at upgrading the drain and embankment with a retaining wall on the western side.
Investigation, design and consenting took place between 2019 and 2021. The objective of the project was to upgrade the existing road/accessway and drain to provide safe and resilient access to the beachfront and carpark. The scope included minor earthworks, construction of Redi-Rock retaining wall to support the road/accessway (approx. 175m of total wall up to 4.5m in height), minor drainage, road reconstruction (new pavement/surfacing, kerb/channel, line marking and signage), and landscaping.
The other key objectives of the project included cultural acknowledgement and protection of threatened species within the drain and dune habitat.
The full abstract can be downloaded below