The mainstem of the Conway River /Tūtae Putaputa has its headwaters in the Seaward Kaikoura Range/Te Whatakai o Rakihouia and it is mostly a rain fed river.  The catchment, with an area of 19,408 hectares, is periodically subject to short intense easterly rainfall when a cyclonic system moves south off the east coast.  Along the upper and middle parts, the river has steep banks with occasional old river terraces high above the river bed level.  Downstream of Ferniehurst the river has a wide bed typical of braided systems with lower and more undulating terraces on either side.  In the lower reaches, the river bed and banks are often densely covered in exotic plants (mostly wattles, European broom, gorse and pasture grasses).  At the river mouth there is a small hapua (a type of coastal lagoon) sheltered behind a barrier beach that only occasionally opens to sea.  The hapua is considered one of the few true coastal lagoon systems in North Canterbury and provides important habitat for a wide range of species (Moore, 1999).

The following major tributaries flow directly into the mainstem of the Conway River /Tūtae Putaputa:

• Devils Creek
• Towry River
• Campbell Stream
• Barney’s Creek
• Charwell River
• Weka Brook
• Gelt River
• Spey Stream
• Open Creek
• Hundalee Stream
• Limestone Creek

Variation 7 to the Proposed Natural Resources Regional Plan (PNRRP) related to the Conway River/Tūtae Putaputa and was notified in October 2007.  Environment Canterbury organised two pre-hearing meetings after close of submissions.  At the second pre-hearing meeting the participants requested that the submitters be given an opportunity to discuss issues associated with the notified flow regime and explore the possibilities to reach common ground on issues raised through the submission process. 

That dialogue led to a wider discussion on hydrology and ecology of the river and concerns were raised that the flows required to manage the hāpua at the river mouth were insufficient.  Irrigators, on the other hand, raised their concerns regarding the reliability of supply of irrigation water with the proposed regime. 

Environment Canterbury has commissioned a report to identify hydrological and ecological issues and to recommend an appropriate minimum flow to address the issues raised by the submitters.  The new findings were discussed with submitters. 

Submissions to Variation 7 do not provide adequate scope to change the notified variation to address the concerns raised by the submitters.  Therefore it was decided to draft Plan Change 2 to replace Variation 7.