While rivers are dynamic, constantly changing systems, the June-July 2025 floods have pushed a number of Tasman's rivers into a new state and a new balance that will continue to adjust and settle for some time.

The long-term recovery work on our rivers will have this new dynamic state front of mind, and we will be looking to river management practices, old and new, including willow planting and gravel extraction, to prepare us for the next major flood as best as possible.

Recent interactions with the public through our district-wide Rivercare meetings have helped us take stock and gain valuable insights on what is important to residents who live near or rely on our rivers and how to approach our ongoing works programme.

We share the urgency of addressing the issues facing us, but at the same time emphasise that the nature of meeting, maintaining and adapting to the ever-changing nature of rivers and the associated infrastructure will require a long term commitment.

Collaboration with landowners remains an important aspect in establishing the needs and priorities of our ongoing work. We have also contracted previous Catchment Board staff and experts from outside the District to contribute to this exercise and keep the momentum going.

The initial period of response during and after the floods meant immediate action was required by landowners to repair damage and minimise the impacts that had occurred in anticipation of another flood, as long as that work did not adversely impact your neighbours or the river's ability to accommodate a major flood.

Many works completed by landowners in the post-flood period, such as clearing drains, pulling debris from rivers, and managing scour damage, would have had a very low risk of impacting adjacent properties.

It is essential that all works completed in our rivers take account of the river in its entirety, and we are not just shifting harm from one landowner to another.

To that end, Council will be looking to verify that permanent works completed during and after the floods, such as raising existing stopbanks or building new stopbanks, are constructed to required standards and regulations.

Stopbanks, which divert or deflect flood water, have a high risk of making flooding worse on neighbouring properties, and need to be designed as a linked network to provide consistent and fair protection to everyone living and working along the river in flood prone areas.

Where legal requirements for permanent works that have the potential to impact adjacent landowners are not met, the Council will consider if compliance measures are necessary to remedy the situation.

At the core of this is the long-term goal of managing flood risk sustainably and building a safe and resilient river network.