Know your water take limits, before El Niño kicks in

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The only credible source of information about water restrictions in Canterbury is our water restrictions webpage. We update flow and restriction information every day.   

Why we need water take restrictions

Many people in our region take water from surface water sources to sustain their livelihoods and support food production.  

Gillian Jenkins, Team Leader Compliance for mid-Canterbury says: 

“It’s essential that every irrigator follows the rules that apply to their water take, to protect our rivers and their ecosystems, and ensure that everyone else in the catchment can access their allocated water.  

If operators take even a small amount more, the combined effect can be to prolong low-flows during dry conditions, which can harm the health of a river and the life it supports. In worst-case scenarios, rivers and streams may dry up completely in places and we may see fish strandings that could have been avoided.  

“While dry stream beds and lakes can also occur naturally, simply due to insufficient rainfall, it is distressing when it happens.” 

Efficient management can yield big gains 

Spring is the time to check your equipment and make sure your irrigation schedules are ready for summer. 

Here are some things you can do to ensure you are ready to irrigate efficiently:  

• Plan for the season: if restrictions come in early, be ready to manage your scheduling. You can find more on irrigation restrictions.  
• Check your irrigation performance: undertake a bucket test to check that coverage is even and for soil depth penetration. 
• Monitor your soil moisture: improve irrigation efficiency through the smart use of soil sensor technology.  
• Get accurate weather forecast information: to take best advantage of rain and avoid wasting water.  
• Upskill staff: to optimise water use and avoid damage to equipment. 

It’s also important to ensure your irrigator is not spraying onto an adjacent road or beyond your property boundary. Besides being inefficient and a driving hazard, it’s a particularly bad look when water is scarce.  

Visit our farming hub for more advice and information.  

Enforcement options 

If you have breached the conditions of your consent, the consequences can be anything from a notice of non-compliance to prosecution. 

Possible consequences of non-compliance:

• Notice of non-compliance
• Letter of formal warning
• Cost recovery
• Requesting an application for a retrospective resource consent
• Abatement notice
• Infringement notice
• An enforcement order from the Environment Court
• Alternative Environmental Justice (AEJ)
• Prosecution

Ms Jenkins explains that enforcing the rules is about being fair to everyone and doing the right thing. 

“With the vast majority of farmers going above and beyond to comply with the rules, it’s important we take quick action to put a stop to any ‘overtake’ by individual operators,” she says. 

Visit our farming hub for more information about irrigation and water use.