STEPS has been working with several groups across Meola catchment for months, including: Cabbage Tree Swamp Incorporated (CTSI), Character Coalition, South Epsom -Three Kings Planning Group, Balmoral Residents Association, Eden Kingsland Society, neighbourhood groups around Morningside, Haverstock-Kitchener Roads, and other locations.
Meola is the largest catchment on the Auckland isthmus. – 15.6 square kilometres.
“Albert-Eden (AELB) is the most urbanised local board in the Auckland Region.”
AELB has one of the lowest number of parks per capita.
Meola Catchment is a flood prone catchment, with far less infrastructure than most other Auckland urban catchments. It was one of the most damaged catchments in the 2023 floods.
Half of AELB’s land lies in Meola Catchment.
We have all met with Councillors, AELB, and Council Officers but have heard no plans for stormwater. After we all presented to AELB, the board recommended a Meola Catchment Management Plan when reporting back to Auckland Council.
The blue networks are stormwater pipes. Meola catchment is centre left in grey, with few pipes around either Owairaka or Maungawhau. East of Gribblehirst Park are properties showing as “high hazard” and “very high hazard”
Plan Change 120 will approximately double the potential number of new residences in Meola catchment, since Government Legislation mandated intensification around our four railway stations . Maungawhau, Kingsland, Morningside and Baldwin.
STEPS is seeking some “Making Space for Water Blue Green Networks” which have been built elsewhere since the 2023 floods. Meola Creek needs increased carrying capacity for floods, but once again Meola dropped off Council’s Blue-Green funding list.
We also ask that prior to intensification, a “Whole of Meola Catchment Management Plan” is developed, and a flood-mitigation strategy implemented. We propose that PC 120 zoning does not preclude daylighting of Meola Creek, and would encourage Council to proceed with it as outlined here.
STEPS has been working with Cabbage Tree Swamp Incorporated. Stormwater from the Gribblehirst area reaches Meola Creek at Lyon Ave, contributing to large overflows at times. CTSI have shared their additional PC 120 submission, 24 September 2026, written with the help of a stormwater engineer.
These photos show floods at 2023 Anniversary Weekend.
On 16 April 2019 Auckland Council commissioners granted Auckland Council Healthy Waters a network discharge consent for the diversion and discharge consent for all of the existing and future stormwater discharge from the public stormwater network. Here is the decision.
While we appreciated the public notification and we supported the goal of aligning the range of HW stormwater consents into one framework, STEPS had submitted jointly with Oakley Creek opposing several aspects of this consent. We consider that “all future stormwater discharge” is far too broad given the problematic situation now. Further we see no standards for what can be discharged.
Following our submissions, we were later shocked at the lack of consultation with residents and groups such as STEPS. Special follow up sessions were held by Healthy Waters consent team with various corporate groups who had concerns, but none with other submitters such as Forest and Bird, SASOC (Stop Auckland Sewage Overflows Coalition) or STEPS. On 31 May STEPS and Friends of Oakley Creek jointly became section 274 participants to the appeals of both Forest and Bird and SASOC, to try to achieve some more balance and involvement of ratepayers in the discharge consent process. For us this is about clean water, as stormwater is the major driver of pollution in Meola Creek.
