Torrential downpours have a big effect on New Zealand’s civil engineers.
For a start, they get nervous about just how much rain will go into soak hole, stormwater pipes and downstream receiving catchments says Kane Willcox, team leader at Maven on Level One.
Then he says they get curious and want to see how their designs have coped.
“The big flood on January 27 and the subsequent cyclone was devastating for people, and our sincere sympathies are with them and their families,” Kane says. “The event, however, gave a us a real-life opportunity to evaluate some work Maven has been doing to protect against flooding.
“That includes designing new soak holes, pipe capacity checks and a variety of other engineering solutions. I got out and about as soon as the water allowed me to and had a look at a few of our sites. I was very happy with what I found.
The Maven team at the B:HIVE is involved in general civil engineering and land development, with current work flow being focused on delivering various large scale subdivision projects.
Kane predicts the flood event will have an effect on freeboard levels – the level at which houses needs to be built on a site. These levels could be increased to make buildings more resilient.
“We need to future proof not only Auckland, but across New Zealand,” he says.
The Maven team has been growing quickly, with the help of its B:HVE colleagues 84 Recruitment finding it top talent. The 10-strong B:HIVE staff complements a larger team of engineers and surveyors based in nine offices across the country.
In the mop up now taking place Kane says the challenge for many will be getting sign off to be allowed to do work to solve issues that the weather events caused. As well as consent for engineering work to take place, there are also considerations around insurance claims and Toka Tū Ake EQC (Earthquake Commission).
“We are all going to have to be a bit patient,” he says. “The influx of work has suddenly got so much longer.”
The fine weather in the past couple of weeks and a chance to get to the beach for a swim is helping with the wait.