Awa Environmental was founded in 2015 by a small group of ambitious flood modellers and engineers who set out to transform the way stormwater was managed in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Climate projections and New Zealand’s escalating weather losses, along with rapid urban development and aging infrastructure, demand an urgent change to the way we adapt. Even in the current climate, 750,000 people and $235 billion of buildings in New Zealand are at risk from a major rainfall or river flooding event. By 2050, average annual losses from floods, storms, and coastal inundation could rise by around 25%.

As stormwater shapes our lives and the environment, so we must work together to shape it for the benefit of current and future generations. This is no straightforward task: stormwater’s unpredictable and uncontained nature presents highly complex challenges.

In 2015, we believed that truly integrating the essential services needed for stormwater management would enable us to tackle such challenges more effectively, unlock new value for our clients, and deliver better outcomes for them, our communities, and our world.

We knew this would require a unique culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence that empowered highly skilled, technical specialists to work as a continuously learning and improving interdisciplinary team.

So that’s what we built, with heart, and that’s why local authorities, developers, designers, and industry come to us for thoughtful, pragmatic advice and long-lasting solutions to stormwater and related problems.