This is Sophie.

Sophie lives in Omokoroa, a seaside town on a peninsular in the Bay of Plenty,
From her bedroom window she can see the harbour sparkle in the sun, and sometimes she can see clouds gathering in the distance.

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On 22 January 2026, the rain came like she had never seen before.
It did not stop.
It fell harder and heavier than memory alone could explain.

Nearby at Tauranga, the weather station recorded 274 millimetres of rain in just 24 hours!
At the Port rain gauge, 400 millimetres was recorded.
And living next door to Sophie were Peter and Katie who watched their own gauge overflow at 300 millimetres.
Sophie thought about this and realised that 300 mm of water was over her knees!

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Sophie turned to her Daddy and asked,
“How much rain fell on our property, Daddy?”
Daddy paused. He reached for his calculator and began to mumble…

A Lot of Water
“…300 × 800 ÷ … yes … and then ÷ a thousand …
Okay — WOW.”
Daddy smiled at Sophie.
“That was 240,000 litres of rain.
That’s almost seven shipping containers full of water!”

  • 300 mm × 800 m² property
  •  = 240,000 L

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Daddy continued,
“Even though much of our roof water went into drains,
that still left two–thirds of that rain on our lawn and garden.”
Sophie’s eyes widened.
“So… where did it go then?” she asked.

“Well”, Daddy replied, “onto our neighbours’ property, I suppose.”
I guess nearly five container loads of water flowed down our hill
onto Mr and Mrs Jones’s land below us.”
“That meant their land had to hold their rain AND ours.”
Daddy shook his head.
“This is not good.”.

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Sophie thought hard.
“Our rain has to go somewhere,” she said.
“What if we built a new drain — a big one —
so all the rainwater could travel safely down to the sea?”
Daddy looked at her, eyes wide.
“I wonder if Mr and Mrs Jones would be happy
to share a common drain down the hillside,” he said.
“Sophie, I think you might be on to something… clever girl.”

 

Sophie and her family shared the idea with their neighbours.
“Let’s work together,” she said.
“Let’s make a plan for rainwater to flow where it can do no harm.”

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Together, they talked about ways to help:

  • Build stronger drains.
  • Add rain gardens and channels.
  • Guide water safely toward the harbour. 
  • Add horizontal drains into the hillside.
  • Collect roof water for gardens.

 

Everyone had ideas, and everyone helped.
Some dug channels.
Some planted plants with deep roots.
Some cleaned old drains.
Some learned how water moves, and why it matters.

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The hillside stayed firm.
The houses stayed safe.
And the harbour was still beautiful after the storm.
Sophie beamed.
Sometimes a big problem needs a big idea,
and sometimes a small voice is the one that helps everyone think in a new way.

FAMILY DATA SHEET

 

800m² Property – 300mm Event
Rainfall: 300mm (0.3m)
Area: 800m² Total volume:
0.3 × 800 = 240 cubic metres
= 240,000 litres
Equivalent:
≈ 7 standard 20-foot shipping containers (≈33,000L each)


If 20 properties in a downslope cluster receive similar rainfall:
240,000L × 20 = 4.8 million litresEven if a third ic piped away during a peak event:
3.2 million litres remains in motion.


That water must:

  • Infiltrate,
  • Be conveyed,
  • Or accumulate.


If conveyance capacity is exceeded:

  • Surface flooding increases.
  • Ground strength decreases.
  • Slip likelihood increases.

The End

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