Stormwater upgrades

The Auckland region was tested in early 2023, when a month’s worth of rain fell in just a few hours. Stormwater systems across the city were overwhelmed including at Auckland Airport, leading to flooding at the international terminal and causing significant travel disruptions for passengers.

Auckland Airport has completed a significant programme of major stormwater upgrades, boosting the precinct’s resilience to extreme weather and improving the quality of water flowing into the Manukau Harbour.

Since 2023, Auckland Airport has installed an additional 4.4 kilometres of stormwater pipes – many large enough to stand upright in – have now been laid underground in the west of the precinct, forming a critical part of the airport’s 150km-strong stormwater network. Together with improvements to multiple stormwater ponds and a new innovative stormwater treatment system, the project provides added resilience to the impacts of climate change and improves the airport’s ability to manage water sustainably.

The Coupled Wetland Biofilter system is the first-of-its-kind in New Zealand. Designed to manage stormwater from more than 100 hectares of land, including the airport’s international airfield, the coupled wetland biofilter mimics natural processes to clean stormwater before it flows into the Manukau Harbour.

Auckland Airport worked with iwi to ensure cultural and environmental guidance shaped the design of the biofilter, including the installation of a cultural marker to acknowledge archaeological discoveries at the site.

Click here for more information on stormwater upgrades.