Posted on January 7, 2026
Work is underway to improve the flood carrying capacity of the Taylor River near Blenheim’s town centre.
“The purpose-built amphibious excavator navigated its way down the river yesterday which was quite a sight to see. It was evident from how high the excavator was sitting in the river the extent of the silt that has built up in the river channel over previous flood events,” Council’s Rivers and Drainage Engineering Manager Andy White said.
Access to the reach of the river between the Alfred Street bridge and the SH1/rail bridge being dredged presented a unique problem that required contractors Gill Construction and Council to think “outside the box” for a novel but sustainable solution to the ongoing issue of sediment deposition at this location, Mr White said.
“In March 2025 we collectively settled upon the use of an amphibious excavator but sourcing a machine capable of squeezing beneath the various road bridges proved a challenge. After procuring a machine in Australia and shipping to New Zealand, the team at Gill’s have worked around the clock to refurbish, refit and upgrade the new machine now affectionately known as ‘Swampy’ for the works to be completed before 1 February.
“Swampy is testament to the innovation our Rivers team and local contractors are employing to provide sustainable, affordable solutions to river and flood risk issues that the community have been seeking for some time,” Mr White said.
The machine will operate within the river channel, loading silt into small trucks on the northern side. A 150m stretch of the river will be dredged between the Alfred Street bridge and the road/rail bridge throughout January with tidy-up works to be completed by March. Council has already removed the Crinoline Bridge footbridge to allow for the works.
The Taylor River Shared Users Path is closed on both sides of the dredging area. The area to the north side as far as the Ōpaoa Loop Confluence by the Boathouse Theatre is also fenced off for the stockpiling of silts and once dry these will be removed.
Mr White said the dredging was required to remove a build-up of sediment in the river caused by several weather events. This would create more flood capacity as part of Blenheim’s flood control system, he said.
Dredging of the Taylor River was approved in Council’s Long Term Plan with priority given to the section downstream of the road/rail bridge to ensure the flood carrying capacity of the river. This has been done in two phases with the first phase completed ahead of the June 2025 weather event. This work now continues with the current dredging.
Once the dredging is finished Council’s Parks and Open Spaces will start redecking the boardwalk on both sides of the river from the south side of the road/road bridge to The Quays and from Alfred Street to the canoe ramp by the Boathouse Theatre.
Dredging has started to remove sediment build up in the river to improve its flood carrying capacity
