Bay of Plenty

Branch Coordinators

Contact us at bop@nzgs.org

James Griffiths

James is an Engineering Geologist with Beca in Tauranga. After a previous life working in outdoor education and guiding on the Fox Glacier for 7 years, James studied Geology at Otago University, graduating in 2014 with a BSc (Hons). As a student James worked for GeoSolve Ltd in Dunedin, before moving to Tauranga in 2014 to join Beca.

James has worked on site hazard assessments, geotechnical site investigations and ground modeling for a broad range of clients and market sectors. He has experience with a wide variety of ground investigation methods, aiming to obtain the best from each method to produce reliable and trustworthy geotechnical data. He has a strong focus on H&S, so that everyone goes home safe at the end of the day.

Email: James.Griffiths@beca.com

Phone: (07) 578 0896

Kim de Graaf

Kim is a Senior Geotechnical Engineer with ENGEO Ltd in their Tauranga office. She completed a BSc(Hons) in Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Canterbury before working in accountancy for several years. Kim then returned to UC to complete a PhD in Geotechnical Engineering. She then worked for Beca, Tauranga on various projects while completing her thesis. Kim is particularly interested in numerical modeling, natural hazards and forensic engineering.

Email: KdeGraaf@engeo.co.nz

USEFUL READING

For those new to the Bay of Plenty or who want to find out a bit more background or history (in the geotechnical context), the list below provides some useful reading or reference material. All the articles or references listed below are available in the NZGS online library (unless specifically noted). This is not an exhaustive list of references. Please contact the local NZGS reps if you have a specific reference you think would be useful to add.

Tauranga / Western BOP

Tauranga City Council (TCC) Infrastructure Development Code (IDC) sets out Council requirements for geotechnical reporting and provides details of the geotechnical accreditation system. This is available as an online resource here.
The TCC-IDC, DS10-Appendix A ref. list has been upgraded to include several other geotechnical and engineering geological references to provide a basic set of geo-professional guides and technical papers for professional practice in the TCC area and the wider BOP region.
Documents from Sections 1-3 and 5 can be downloaded from the referenced websites, i.e. TCC for section 1, Standards NZ for Section 2 and MBIE for section 5:
- 1. COUNCIL DOCUMENTATION
- 2. NZ LEGISLATION
- 3. NZ STANDARDS AND MANUALS
- 5. NZ TECHNICAL GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS:
  - NZGS/MBIE Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering Guidance, Modules 1-6 (2016-17)
  - Canterbury Residential Technical Guidance documents, MBIE (2012, updated 2018)
Additional technical references for the following topics, listed in Sections 4 & 6 below, can be found here:
- 4. OTHER TAURANGA CITY COUNCIL Technical REFERENCES:
  - Slope Stability
  - Geology
  - Maps from TCC & Retrolens
  - Seismic Loading & Site Classification
  - Liquefaction & Ground Improvement
  - Soakage Assessment
  - Other
- 6. OTHER GEOTECHNICAL Technical REFERENCES FOR TAURANGA CITY & WESTERN BOP:
  - Soil Properties & Performance
  - Projects & Experience
  - Earth Science (from University of Waikato, NZ)
A Full Summary of all the above references, for Sections 1 to 6, can be found here

Rotorua / Taupo

Rotorua District Council has a suite of hazard maps available in its District Plan Maps. These cover landslide potential, soft ground potential, potential fault line impact, geothermal hazard, flood, etc.

Rotorua Lakes Council GeyserView (GIS)
Rotorua District Council Hazard Studies – Landslide Hazards, GNS, 2010 (available on BOPRC website)
Rotorua District Council Hazard Studies – Part 1 Volcano and Geothermal Hazards, GNS, 2010 (available on BOPRC website)

Taupo District Council has a variety of layers on the GIS system to cover both flood and fault hazards.

Whakatane / Kawerau / Edgecumbe / Matata

Howarth – New Formations of late Pleistocene tephras from the Okataina Volcanic Centre, 1975