Toby Laidlow says building flood protection to protect new subdivisions and the people who live in them is one of the most satisfying jobs he has ever had.

His team has just finished installing protective infrastructure for a development in Rotorua that will eventually encompass about 1,200 homes, future-proofing it against the kinds of weather events that are becoming increasingly common as the climate changes.

The Morey Street Dams and Wetlands project he led created two dams to trap excess water from large rainfall events in the area and two concrete spillways to guide overflowing water into a wetland downhill from them, minimising the risk of localised flooding.

It plays a critical role in protecting the nearby Wharenui Rise housing development and existing downstream residents as it expands over the next 25 years, a point that has special meaning for the 28-year-old MAP Projects Civil Project Manager.

“This project is about a two-minute walk from where I grew up in Rotorua,” he says.

“So for me, being able to contribute to and be a part of a big project like this in my hometown is really special.”

Toby says it was inspiring to see the way people in the community stepped up in support of the project when more hands on deck were required.

“We hired lots of local people and lots of family members, some of them had next to no experience in civil construction. At the end of it I’m pretty proud of what we produced.

“My favourite part was definitely after the last concrete pour was completed when we all sat back at the end of a Friday afternoon and had a beer, it was just awesome.”

He says being one of the leaders in his first major earthworks project after just four years working in the industry was a big challenge, but one he embraced. It tested him to manage people and logistics, as well as to come up with solutions on the fly as design standards evolved throughout the work, which began back in 2022.

“We were basically problem solving every day. I learned the most on that project than I have on any other project.”

The project was epic in scope, with a total of 200,000 cubic metres of earth moved to create the two dams and wetland. The result was that any excess water overflowing from the dams is directed down two unique spillways, one featuring a layer of rocks to slow water flow, on its way to the sculptured wetland area below.

With the project finished the wetland is due to be planted with natives by the Rotorua Lakes Council, which commissioned the project, enhancing its ability to soak up water and attracting wildlife and birds to the area.

Toby says with the spread of new housing subdivisions across the country to accommodate the urgent need for more housing, similar flood-prevention projects will need to be built to support them, he says.

“I think water-management projects are going to become increasingly common as the whole weather scenario gets more severe with climate change, so the flow-on effect would be more projects like this.”

With more work in the horizon in the future, MAP Projects is always keen to welcome people looking to find out more about roles in the industry and runs work experience sessions for local school children who get a lot out of it, he says.

Toby says his top tip for people thinking of getting into the industry is to show a bit of initiative themselves.

“If you do want to get into civil, knock on doors, show some willing and get in there and do it. We’ve had people come and knock on our office door and say they were keen to give things a nudge and we pretty much gave him the job on the spot.”

If you want to have the satisfaction of building civil infrastructure that people might not always see, but couldn’t live without, make sure to explore EPIC’s Civil Construction Careers Roadmap to discover where you might fit into the industry.