ORC provides flood protection and land drainage for approximately 43,000 hectares of rural and urban land in Otago, with more than 200km of floodbanks, 14 pumping stations, 42 bridges, 369 culverts and various other infrastructure including weirs, walls, trees and groynes.

Many of Otago’s communities are in low-lying areas close to rivers that pose a flood hazard. A scheme is a network of infrastructure assets in a particular area designed to protect communities from flood hazards, to drain farmland or to manage rivers. ORC also helps to manage rivers outside of the schemes by monitoring and managing river channels, managing vegetation and mitigating erosion where appropriate.