Queenstown-Lakes District Council

Lower Rees River & Glenorchy – Design Services

QLDC is planning to further its understanding of, and respond to, flood hazards in the Glenorchy area. Detailed evaluation of hazards and potential responses is required to determine the best value-for-money intervention.

Various workstreams including the more recent ‘Head of Lake Whakatipu Natural Hazards Adaptation Strategy – November 2024 Draft’ have highlighted that the Glenorchy township is exposed to a complex range of flooding related hazards. The landscape is very dynamic and with the changing climate, the natural hazard challenges at Head of Lake Whakatipu are complex resulting in no simple solutions.

Numerous hazards have been identified in the area including Bible Stream, Glenorchy Lagoon, Lake Whakatipu and the Rees River.
At Glenorchy township, past flooding events have occurred due to various sources of flooding, including high flows in the Rees River, Buckler Burn and Bible Stream, and high-water levels in Lake Whakatipu. Some flood events are due to a combination of sources.

The township has been highlighted as high risk by both ORC and QLDC; QLDC would like to take action to address this risk.

Further engineering and design planning is required to progress investigation into the four key hazards and how they can be addressed: The Glenorchy Floodbank (already has an established concept design), Lake Wakatipu, Bible Stream, and the Glenorchy Borefield.