Independent Expertise in Rivers, Flooding & Hydraulic Engineering
Specialist engineering advice and independent judgement for complex river, flood, stormwater and water infrastructure issues. Christensen Consulting is an independent specialist engineering consultancy led by Kyle Christensen, FEngNZ, CPEng, with more than 25 years' experience. Kyle works with councils, infrastructure organisations, developers, legal advisers and landowners throughout New Zealand where experienced, independent engineering judgement is required.
Independent Review & Expert Advice | Floodplain Management | Hydraulic Engineering | River Engineering & Geomorphology | Engineer to Contract
Fellow of Engineering NZ
ME (Natural Resources)
BE (Hons)
MBA
Kyle Christensen
FEngNZ | CPEng | BE(Hons) | ME (Natural Resources) | MBA
Kyle is a specialist river, flood and hydraulic engineer with more than 25 years' experience. His career combines hydraulic analysis and design, river engineering and geomorphology, strategic floodplain management, construction and contract administration, independent technical review and expert advisory work.
Before establishing Christensen Consulting, Kyle held engineering roles in local government and consulting covering river engineering and management, stormwater hydraulic assessment and design, flood modelling, floodplain management and complex water infrastructure.
Kyle has also contributed to the development and dissemination of river-management practice nationally, including authorship of New Zealand guidance and delivery of professional river-engineering training.
This breadth enables him to consider not only whether an individual structure works, but how infrastructure interacts with the wider river, drainage or flood-management system and how that system is likely to perform and evolve over time.
Professional Affiliations
Engineering New Zealand
Practice area assessor
NZ Rivers Group
Past president, member
Institute of Directors NZ
Member
NZ Hydrological Society
Member
NZ Freshwater Sciences Society
Member
Water New Zealand
Member
Services
Independent Technical Review & Expert Advice – Independent investigation, peer review, post-event and infrastructure performance assessment, expert advice and evidence for flooding, river, stormwater and waterway issues.
Floodplain & Flood Risk Management – Strategic flood-risk advice integrating hydraulic assessment, river management, structural works, planning controls, emergency management, economics and long-term risk management.
Hydraulic Engineering & Complex Water Infrastructure – Hydraulic analysis, modelling and design of complex stormwater and water infrastructure, including gated structures, energy dissipation and hydraulic control structures.
River Engineering & Geomorphology – River and stream engineering, erosion and sediment processes, gravel-bed analysis, reservoir sedimentation, analysis and prediction of future river states, and the interaction of engineered structures with river processes.
River & Stream Works Review and Value Engineering – Independent review of proposed works to improve performance, resilience, constructability, environmental outcomes and value, drawing on extensive experience and New Zealand river-management best practice.
Engineer to Contract & Independent Certification – Experienced Engineer to Contract for $1m–$25m civil infrastructure contracts, combining independent contract administration and certification with strong technical, design and construction experience.
Why Christensen Consulting?
Clients deal directly with the specialist undertaking the work.
Christensen Consulting combines the technical depth required for complex assignments with the responsiveness and independence of a specialist practice.
The focus is straightforward:
Clear, independent and defensible engineering advice.
Clients
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Hawkes Bay Regional Council
Hastings District Council
New Plymouth District Council
Kapiti Coast District Council
Upper Hutt City Council
Greater Wellington Regional Council
Tasman District Council
Timaru District Council
Environment Southland
Wellington Water
The Property Group
Pioneer Energy Limited
FirstGas
Selected Experience
River Engineering Best Practice & Training
Author of New Zealand river-management guidance on Room for the River and Riparian Management, and developer and presenter of professional training on the use of rock in river engineering.
Cyclone Gabrielle - Hawkes Bay
Independent technical review work for Hawke's Bay Regional Council examining flood-protection and drainage-system performance during Cyclone Gabrielle, including design standards, hydraulic capacity, asset condition, maintenance, operational practices and observed system performance.
Expert Advice to Landowners
Independent advice to landowners affected by river erosion, flooding and drainage issues, including river behaviour, erosion mechanisms, drainage performance, effects of neighbouring works and infrastructure, future risks and practical management options.
Rangitaiki River Scheme Review – Edgecumbe
River and floodplain management expert on the independent review panel established following the 2017 Edgecumbe flood, investigating the performance and failure of the Rangitaiki River flood-defence system and opportunities to improve future flood-risk management.
Complex Hydraulic Infrastructure
Hydraulic analysis and design of complex water and stormwater infrastructure, including energy dissipation, gated structures, hydraulic controls and complex conveyance systems.
Engineer to Contract
Engineer to Contract and independent certifier for $1–25 million civil infrastructure projects across water, stormwater, river, coastal and other civil works.
Resource Consent Peer Review – Waterways
Independent technical peer review of resource consent applications for activities interacting with rivers, streams and other waterways for a number of councils.
Reviews include assessment of hydraulic and flood effects, erosion and sediment processes, river morphology, waterway structures and proposed mitigation measures, with a focus on whether proposed works appropriately address risks and align with sound river-engineering practice.
Major Residential Development – Flood Risk
Independent expert and peer-review advice on flood risk for large-scale residential development, including hydraulic modelling, flood hazards, development effects, mitigation and residual risk through consenting and planning processes.
Photos & Videos From the Field
