Environment Southland has just begun improvements to the Mataura River at the Gore road and rail bridge crossing.
Environment Southland Chair Jeremy McPhail said this marks the first on-the-ground investment delivered under the next round of Government co-funding for flood resilience projects in Murihiku Southland.
“We’re thrilled to continue to partner with the Government to deliver this critical work for our communities,” Chair McPhail said.
This next phase builds on earlier flood infrastructure co-investment across Murihiku Southland that now amounts to nearly $50million since 2020.
This initial work in Gore aims to improve channel capacity and the focus is on the tightest parts of the river system to improve flow and reduce how high, and how long, water levels sit upstream during a flood, which in turn, reduces the pressure on the flood infrastructure.
“This project combines practical engineering improvements and careful planning across the catchment with the aim of reducing the threat of flooding for communities in Gore, Mataura, and the surrounding areas.”
It covers about 1 kilometre of river reach across five targeted areas and involves removing around 23,500 cubic metres of gravel and sediment. The design assessment found this could increase flood flow capacity through this reach by about 13 percent.
“In the next three months, we’ll be starting to develop a plan for the whole Mataura River catchment in partnership and with input from the community, blending engineered and nature-based solutions. This will reduce flood risks to our communities well into the future.”
The Gore bridge works form part of the $18million Mataura River Flood Resilience Project, which combines targeted infrastructure improvements, improved flood intelligence — including river and rainfall monitoring and flood modelling — and planning for longer-term, catchment-scale flood risk reduction.
“It would not be possible without the funding support of Central Government. The Government has contributed 60%, ($10.8 million) while Environment Southland covers the remaining $7.2 million.
“Environment Southland has a proven record of delivering flood improvement projects and the Government and Gore and Mataura communities can trust us to get the job done,” he said.
“Our team continues to use our extensive expertise to design, develop and manage these projects, on-the-ground and alongside trusted partners and local contractors.”
“We’re also progressing works in the Ōreti catchment, and in Invercargill we’ll be assessing the Otepuni flood bank to further strengthen how the network performs through the city.”
The project is co-funded through the Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund, administered by Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit, alongside Environment Southland.
Works at the Gore bridges are expected to take around four months, weather permitting.
For more information on this project, click here.
Additional information
The 2025 detailed design and engineering assessment identified the Gore road and rail bridges location as a key constraint in the river system. During large flood events, water can move into this part of the river faster than it can pass through the bridge opening, causing water levels to rise upstream through parts of Gore and remain elevated for longer. This increases pressure on surrounding areas and the flood infrastructure network.
