Head of Lake Whakatipu - Update 32 | December 2023

Dec 10, 2023

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Kia ora koutou,

Here is our final programme update for 2023. It includes a summary of the milestones we’ve achieved together this year, progress updates on some ongoing projects, information about ORC’s Environmental Data Portal, and an introduction to some more members of our team.

This year, we have achieved some major milestones in the programme of work toward a natural hazard adaptation strategy for the Head of Lake Whakatipu.

We’re very grateful to the community members who continue to share their experiences, perspectives and ideas to help us develop this collaborative work.

We will be back with another update in February. Have a lovely summer break and we look forward to seeing you again in 2024!

Reflecting on 2023

It’s been a busy year for the Head of Lake Whakatipu natural hazards adaptation programme, and we wanted to give a quick overview of everything that has been achieved over the past 12 months. Thank you to everyone who has been involved.

Reports 2023:

• An assessment report by Tonkin + Taylor Ltd looks at possible engineered hazard mitigation or management approaches for liquefaction and lateral spreading. You can watch a presentation from Mike Jacka, who wrote this report, here.
  
  

• A flood hazard report and summary document were completed on the Buckler Burn.

Archive for reports from previous years can be found on the ORC website.

Glenorchy Flood Forecasting Model

• A flood forecasting model was developed for Glenorchy Lagoon, allowing early warning of potential high water levels or possible flooding into Glenorchy.

• The model was tested in the late September weather event as a tool for forecasting the floodwater level from the lagoon. The performance and accuracy of the model are being evaluated, and the model will be refined following monitoring observations from this event.

Council updates

• There were three update reports to the ORC Safety and Resilience Committee in May, August and November.

Telling the Head of the Lake Whakatipu story

Natural Hazards Adaptation Specialist Jamie MacKenzie completed her master's research on storytelling and the ORC’s community engagement process in developing the Head of Lake Whakatipu Adaptation Strategy. Jamie presented the findings of her research to the Glenorchy Community Association in August.

Staff and team updates

We welcomed four new team members to the ORC Natural Hazards team – Jamie MacKenzie, Ann Conroy, Simon Robinson and, most recently, Toan Nguyen! Check out his profile below. Ann and Simon lead the Adaptation and Analysis teams respectively.

Talking to the community

• We held two in-person workshops at the end of August. The workshops focused on draft community outcomes and discussed a ‘long list’ of possible adaptation options.
  

• We conducted an online survey in September/October about community values, draft outcome statements and how we should engage with the community in the future. There were 47 responses.
  

• We had a stall at the Glenorchy Village Fair in November alongside Emergency Management Otago to talk about community resilience, readiness and response.

In progress

• The natural hazard risk assessment led by Beca is on track to be completed early next year.
  The socio-economic impact assessment, also led by Beca, is progressing, and the first phase is due to be completed by the end of the year. An assessment of potential engineered flood management and ‘nature-based solutions’ approach for the Rees and Dart floodplain areas and the Glenorchy township is now underway with the team from Damwatch Ltd. This project is partially funded by the Ministry for the Environment through the ‘Nature Based Solutions for Resilience Planning’ programme