How can I be kept informed about Canterbury Water?

For updates on the activities and actions of Canterbury Water keep checking Canterbury Water or join our mailing list.

You can also attend monthly zone committee meetings, which are open to the public, or look out for one of the community engagement meetings in your area.

What is the Canterbury Water Management Strategy?

The Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) is a new way of managing Canterbury’s precious water resource.

It provides a collaborative framework for addressing these issues to enable present and future generations to gain the greatest social, economic, recreational and cultural benefits from Canterbury’s water resources within an environmentally sustainable framework.

The strategy sets out targets for water management in Canterbury for the next 30 years. Ten zone committees are responsible for developing water management programmes that give effect to these targets for their respective areas.

There is also a Regional Committee that considers regional issues of environmental restoration and repair; land use impacts on water quality; as well as water storage, distribution and efficiency options.

Zone committees are made of community members, council representatives and Rūnanga. They are appointed for three years and meet every few weeks to gather information about water in their zone before reaching a consensus on a water management programme.

Zone committees are required to seek feedback and opinions from stakeholders and the community to ensure their interests are represented.

Environment Canterbury’s CWMS Group (formerly the Canterbury Water Executive) works with zone committees to provide the scientific information required to enable them to make informed recommendations.

These recommendations are then presented to the appropriate Regional and territorial councils to guide relevant water management policies.

What is the vision of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy?

The vision of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy is “to gain the greatest cultural, economic, environmental, recreational and social benefits from our water resources within a sustainable framework both now and for future generations.”

Is the Canterbury Water Management Strategy binding and set in concrete?

The Canterbury Water Management Strategy is a guiding document and the vision and principles have been given statutory status in the Environment Canterbury Act 2010. Aspects of the strategy may be updated as new scientific information comes to hand.

How did the Canterbury Water Management Strategy come about?

The Canterbury Mayoral Forum led the development of Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) through an extensive consultation process with stakeholders and the public to address the issues around water in Canterbury.

The Canterbury Mayoral Forum was formed specifically to identify opportunities and solve problems relating to regional water management issues. It consisted of the elected Mayors in the region, the chair of Environment Canterbury, and the chief executives of local government in Canterbury.

The issues facing water in Canterbury include the declining health of both surface water and groundwater, an ongoing loss of cultural value and recreational opportunities, as well as the declining availability and reliability of water for agricultural and energy uses.

In November 2009, the Canterbury Mayoral Forum released the CWMS Strategic Framework following an extensive community and stakeholder engagement process. The strategy was adopted by Environment Canterbury and zone committee began being set up in early 2010, with Huruni-Waiau being the first.

What are the Canterbury Water Management Strategy targets?

The targets are an agreed way to measure progress in achieving the vision of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy. The targets include a set of goals applying from 2010 that reflect the fundamental principles in the strategy. Targets are then set for 2015, 2020 and 2040 to provide a set of long-term environment, social, economic and cultural markers reflecting a sustainable development approach. Targets will be reviewed every three years and no one target can take priority over another.

The following targets have been developed:

1. Ecosystem health/biodiversity
2. Natural character of braided rivers
3. Kaitiakitanga
4. Drinking water
5. Recreational and amenity opportunities
6. Water-use efficiency
7. Irrigated land area
8. Energy security and efficiency
9. Regional and national economies
10. Environmental limit

What are the key points in the Canterbury Water Management Strategy?

The Canterbury Water Management Strategy includes a number of key points that provide guidelines on how to manage Canterbury’s water resource in the best possible way.

The implementation of some of the key points is well underway. These include:

•  Integrated Management
  A total solution will involve integrated management across all of Canterbury, right through to local and Central Government
•  Implementation programmes
  Implementation programmes will be developed for each zone and at a regional level. Central government, Ngāi Tahu as tangata whenua, and all relevant stakeholders will be involved in developing the programmes. The general public will also be encouraged to influence the development of these programmes.
•  Water governance structure
  At a local level zone water management committees have been established for each zone to co-ordinate the development of the zone implementation programme. A Regional Water Management Committee has been established to handle issues that are common across the region or cannot be managed satisfactorily at zone level.
•  CWMS Group (formerly the Canterbury Water Executive)
  An executive body has been established to manage the implementation programmes on a day to day basis. The group is an active facilitator.
•  Water infrastructure and services entity
  Consideration is being given to setting up a water entity under the auspices of the Canterbury local authorities. Designing, building, financing and operating the larger elements of the regional water storage and distribution system, this could be a council controlled organisation with a 50/50 joint venture with a private investor.
•  Legislative implications
  The Resource Management Act (RMA) will continue to apply, with individual water consent applications, appropriate conditions, and compliance action remaining key features. It is not clear at this stage whether amendments to the RMA will be needed to give effect to this new regime.

What is the Immediate Steps biodiversity programme?

Each zone committee is responsible for local implementation of the Immediate Steps Biodiversity programme.

Immediate Steps is a $10 million programme for biodiversity which was introduced as part of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy. Through Immediate Steps, $2million each year is available for protecting and restoring biodiversity in and around freshwater habitats. Of this, two thirds comes from rates and one third comes from land owner contributions.

The programme has an initial five year focus and will cover the protection of endangered species and waahi taonga (sacred sites). Immediate Steps also covers maintenance of Canterbury’s braided rivers, providing habitat for native flora and fauna, as well as protecting wetlands and other ecosystems.

How can I contribute to water management in my zone?

Zone and regional committee meetings are open to the public. These meetings are generally held once each month between February and December. At these meetings community members can learn what the committee is up to and ask questions.

Each zone committee is expected to engage with its community and stakeholders. As each committee begins to look at its Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP), it seeks feedback on the water management priorities for the zone. A draft ZIP is then released for public feedback via community meetings and written submissions.

Download a full schedule of committee meetings.

For updates on the activities and actions of Canterbury Water keep checking Canterbury Water or join our mailing list.

How was water use previously managed?

Water management has been governed by the Resource Management Act 1991(RMA). An integral part of the RMA is set up to prevent or mitigate adverse effects on water resources through development.

Resource consents are usually issued by Environment Canterbury. The RMA gives stakeholders the opportunity to submit on development proposals. However the Environment Canterbury (Temporary Commissioners and Improved Water Management) Act has transferred decisions over water management to temporary commissioners. The act refers specifically to the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) and several other significant changes have been made:

• The right to appeal to the Environment Court has been abolished.
• Future Water Conservation Orders (WCOs) will be decided on by the commissioners.
• Hurunui Water Conservation Order has been revoked and new submissions will be sought. Only previous submitters will be able to submit.
• Committee members are appointed rather than elected