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We own a home on the Heretaunga Plains in Hawke's Bay and have school-age children. Flood risk, insurance and the cost of protecting our home are major concerns for us. I am considering my vote in the 2026 New Zealand general election. Which Hawke's Bay flood-protection works are already funded or underway, and which are still future options or election promises? Who is responsible for delivering each?
Hawke’s Bay flood protection: what is funded, what is still a promise?
For a homeowner on the Heretaunga Plains with school-age children, I would separate the flood-protection debate into three questions: what has money committed to it, what is actually being built, and what further protection is still being investigated or promised?
As of 19 October 2026, there is already a substantial, funded programme of flood-protection works in Hawke’s Bay. But it is important not to confuse that programme with a comprehensive upgrade of the entire Heretaunga Plains flood scheme.
The key distinction is that the current recovery programme is building specific stopbanks, pump-station upgrades and other defences, while the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) is also examining how the region’s much larger flood-protection system should change over the longer term. Restoring Flood ResilienceReducing Flood Risk
1. The money already committed
$209m
Central government
North Island Weather Event (NIWE) flood-resilience programme
Government funding for the programme is managed through National Infrastructure Funding and Financing. It covers several major Hawke’s Bay projects, not just the Heretaunga Plains.
$47.5m
HBRC
Regional Council contribution
HBRC's contribution brings the published programme budget to approximately $256.5 million. For most projects, the funding split is about 75% central government and 25% HBRC.
These are programme-wide figures, not money available for any individual homeowner or for every proposed future stopbank. Wairoa's separate $70 million allocation is fully Crown-funded. Restoring Flood ResilienceHawke’s Bay Regional Council’s flood resilience programme on track as construction momentum builds | News Archive
2. Funded projects: what is built or being delivered?
The following are the most relevant works for the Heretaunga Plains and nearby communities. The status is based on HBRC's project updates available in October 2026.
Completed
Waiohiki stopbank
A new 1.035 km stopbank, stream realignment, culverts, floodgates and drainage improvements. The project was completed in May 2026.
- Funding: $10 million; central government and HBRC.
- Delivery: HBRC, working with contractors and mana whenua.
Source: Waiohiki
Main works completed
Ōhiti Road–Ōmāhu flood resilience
New and upgraded stopbanks and bunds alongside Ohiwia Stream, together with road raising, drainage and erosion protection. Main construction was completed in August 2026.
- Funding: $10 million project under the joint government–HBRC programme.
- Delivery: HBRC; contractors included CHB Earthmovers and Fulton Hogan for the respective earthworks and road-raising work.
Source: Ōmāhu flood project reaches the finish line | News ArchiveHawke’s Bay Regional Council’s flood resilience programme on track as construction momentum builds | News Archive
Under construction
Pākōwhai flood-resilience network
An 8.5 km network of new and strengthened stopbanks and flood walls, stream realignment and a spillway. It provides a second line of defence if existing river stopbanks are overwhelmed.
- Funding: Approximately $50 million, jointly funded by central government and HBRC.
- Delivery: HBRC; Hick Bros Civil Construction has the construction contract.
- Target completion: July 2027.
This is one of the most substantial works in the programme for the wider plains area.
Source: PākōwhaiProgress for Pākōwhai: Homes cleared from Category 2C as protection works advance | WhirinakiGETS | Hawke's Bay Regional Council - HBRC Pākōwhai Northern Stopbank Flood Mitigation Tender
Enabling works underway
Brookfields Lower stopbank, Awatoto
About 3.6 km of stopbank is being raised and strengthened to meet updated regional standards, following serious flooding and a stopbank breach during Cyclone Gabrielle.
- Funding: NIWE programme, with central government and HBRC contributions.
- Delivery: HBRC; Goodmans is the construction contractor.
- Expected main construction: October 2026 to April 2027.
Source: Brookfields Lower stopbank upgrade
Funded programme
Pākōwhai and Awatoto pump stations
Major pump-station upgrades are intended to improve the management of water behind flood defences, an important part of reducing flooding when heavy rain falls on the plains.
- Funding: NIWE programme.
- Delivery: HBRC, with Brian Perry Civil awarded the design-and-build contract.
The upgrades complement stopbanks; they do not replace the need for adequate river capacity or drainage.
Other funded projects across the region
The same recovery programme also includes:
- Havelock North: flood-resilience works delivered by Hastings District Council, rather than HBRC.
- Whirinaki: residential and industrial flood defences and associated State Highway 2 road-raising works.
- Pōrangahau: a separate community flood-resilience project.
- Waipawa stopbank: an upgrade under the regional programme.
- Telemetry upgrades: improved river-level and rainfall monitoring to support flood warnings and decisions.
- Wairoa: a separate $70 million Crown-funded flood-mitigation project.
These projects are funded or formally within the programme, but their construction stages and completion dates differ. They should not all be described as completed. Restoring Flood ResilienceHawke’s Bay Regional Council’s flood resilience programme on track as construction momentum builds | News ArchivePōrangahauWhirinaki
3. What is still a future option rather than a funded construction project?
This is arguably the most important part of your question. The existing construction programme is not the same as a decision to rebuild the entire Heretaunga Plains Flood Control Scheme to a higher standard.
HBRC's major flood scheme review, called Reimagining Flood Resilience, reached a significant milestone in July 2026. Its community findings were presented to councillors on 29 July. HBRC explicitly says that no decisions have yet been made on the future flood-protection options. The next decisions are expected through its 2027–2037 Long Term Plan, with public consultation planned for 2027. Community feedback helps shape the future of region's flood resilience | Home
Here is how to distinguish the different categories of work.
| Work or proposal | Status as at October 2026 | Who is responsible? |
|---|---|---|
| Raising the overall protection standard of the Heretaunga Plains scheme | Under review; no region-wide upgrade decision yet | HBRC, with central government and community input |
| Moteo and Omaranui stopbanks | Earlier detailed-design work identified; not thereby funded for construction | HBRC |
| Raupare Upper and Lower stopbanks | Earlier detailed-design work identified; future construction requires decisions and funding | HBRC |
| Chesterhope Upper stopbank | Earlier detailed-design work identified; future construction requires decisions and funding | HBRC |
| East Clive stopbank | Earlier consenting work identified; not proof of a funded construction contract | HBRC |
| Pākōwhai Park stopbank | Earlier detailed-design work identified; distinguish this from the separate Pākōwhai NIWE project now being built | HBRC |
| Further major flood-resilience investment after the current programme | Options to be developed and considered through the next Long Term Plan | HBRC, with potential central-government involvement |
These locations were identified in HBRC's earlier Resilient River Communities programme. That programme funded planning and enabling work at several sites, but HBRC described their construction as separate future upgrades. Some have since been incorporated into other programmes or may be reconsidered as part of the wider scheme review, so their individual status needs to be checked before treating them as unfunded or abandoned. Resilient River CommunitiesCommunity feedback helps shape the future of region's flood resilience | Home
What about election promises?
For the 2026 general election, I would not count a party's pledge to improve flood resilience as funded infrastructure unless it identifies a specific allocation, delivery agency and project timetable.
The material I could verify establishes the existing government–HBRC programme and the Regional Council's future planning process. It does not establish a new, fully costed national election commitment to construct the wider Heretaunga Plains scheme upgrades listed above.
That distinction matters: an election promise to provide more flood protection might lead to future funding, but it is not the same as an appropriation, a signed construction contract or an approved regional investment decision.
4. Who actually pays, delivers and makes the decisions?
For your household, there are three separate layers of responsibility.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council
The main regional flood-protection authority. HBRC manages the Heretaunga Plains scheme, maintains river and stopbank infrastructure, delivers the NIWE projects and develops the longer-term options and regional rates decisions.
Central government
Has already committed substantial money to the NIWE recovery programme. A future government could influence further investment, funding rules and national policy, but additional spending needs an actual decision rather than a campaign statement.
Hastings District Council and other local authorities
District and city councils have responsibilities for local infrastructure, land-use planning, emergency management and relevant consenting. Hastings District Council is specifically responsible for delivering the Havelock North project within the NIWE programme; HBRC is the lead delivery authority for the regional flood scheme works.
Sources: Restoring Flood ResilienceHawke's Bay flood protection worksCommunity feedback helps shape the future of region's flood resilience | Home
The cost to ratepayers
Even where central government pays most of the construction cost, HBRC says ongoing maintenance is funded through regional targeted and general rates. The Waiohiki project, for example, has maintenance funded through those rates, with any increases shared across the wider Heretaunga Plains catchment. Waiohiki
For any future upgrade, I would want to know:
- How much of the capital cost central government would pay, and whether that contribution is guaranteed.
- How much HBRC would borrow or fund through rates.
- Whether the proposed level of protection would justify the ongoing maintenance and renewal costs.
- Whether the upgrade shifts floodwater or increases flood levels elsewhere, rather than simply protecting one area.
Those are legitimate election issues because a project can be funded initially while still creating long-term costs for households.
5. What protection standard are these works designed to provide?
One important caution when comparing promises is that the current programme does not guarantee that homes will be safe in every conceivable flood.
The Pākōwhai network, for example, is designed around a flood event with a 1% annual exceedance probability (AEP), using post-Cyclone Gabrielle modelling, with additional freeboard and a spillway to help manage water in larger events. A 1% AEP event has a 1% chance of being exceeded in any given year; it does not mean such a flood happens only once every 100 years. PākōwhaiBrookfields Lower stopbank upgrade
HBRC's wider review is looking at the future of the Heretaunga Plains and Upper Tukituki schemes, including how flood risks can be reduced while keeping costs manageable. The current scheme's standard and any future upgrade must therefore be considered separately from the protection supplied by individual new stopbanks.
For your home, the relevant question is not simply whether a nearby stopbank is being raised. It is whether your property benefits from that specific work, what flood scenario it is designed for, and what residual risk remains from overtopping, breaches, surface water, drainage or other pathways.
6. How I would use this information when deciding how to vote
I would assess candidates and parties against five practical tests:
- Delivery: Will they protect the funding and completion timetable for the projects already under construction?
- The next stage: Do they support a defined process for deciding which additional Heretaunga Plains upgrades should proceed, and by when?
- Funding fairness: What is their position on central-government contributions versus regional rates and borrowing?
- Evidence: Will they publish the expected protection standard, residual risk and consequences for neighbouring properties for each major project?
- Household consequences: What will they do about flood-risk information, insurance affordability and the financial burden on families living in affected areas?
For the most useful comparison, ask candidates to name a project, a funding amount, a delivery authority and a deadline. A general commitment to “make Hawke’s Bay safer from flooding” is much less informative.
The bottom line
Hawke’s Bay is already spending hundreds of millions of dollars on flood resilience, and several significant projects are completed or under construction. However, the bigger question of how the entire Heretaunga Plains flood-protection system should be upgraded remains open. HBRC's next Long Term Plan process is the key regional decision point for those longer-term options.
Before making a decision about your own home's protection or insurance, I would check the current flood-hazard information for your property and the exact scope of any nearby works. Neither the existence of a funded project nor a change in a property's risk classification should be taken as a guarantee against future flooding.
The primary sources to follow are HBRC's Restoring Flood Resilience programme and its Reducing Flood Risk consultation, where project updates and the next round of long-term planning information are published.
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