Environment Canterbury has cancelled the abatement notice issued to Christchurch City Council following unauthorised sewage discharges into two harbours.
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Ensuring compliance with the regulatory framework
Last updated: 17 August 2026
Reporting frequency: Quarterly
Core service: Environmental Regulation and Protection
Compliance with regional plan rules, national direction and consent conditions will promote sustainable management of natural resources in Waitaha Canterbury and help achieve the outcomes for Waitaha Canterbury described in our Long-Term Plan.
To support compliance, we provide information and advice, and enable resource users to access information on industry best practice, and assistance that is available to them. We help them understand what they need to do to operate within the rules and mitigate risks associated with resource use.
Where we find non-compliance with plan rules, national regulations or consent conditions we take action to ensure resource users become compliant.
How are we tracking on our service measures?
Service measure 5: Percentage of resource users improving their compliance status in a set of targeted categories
Target: Maintain or increase compliance status in at least 4 of 6 targeted categories
How are we doing: The compliance status has improved for all of the 6 targeted categories: activities within drinking water protection zones, simple water takes, and four categories of prioritised high/medium risk activities (North, Central, South and Urban Canterbury).
On track
Service measure 6: Percentage of instances of significant non-compliance where we take action
Target: 100%
How are we doing: 100%, with 162 instances of significant non-compliance with Action Plans in place to 31 March 2026.
On track
More information
We engage, educate, and enable resource users to understand what they have to do to be compliant and, if required, we enforce the rules through the tools we have available – written warnings, infringements, abatement notices or prosecutions.
A metrics dashboard, which provides Councillors with an overview of consenting and compliance activity and progress of several service measures, is presented to the Regulation Hearing Committee every 2-3 months.
Increased scrutiny of water take compliance has led to the identification of a greater number of significant non-compliances, primarily involving consent holders failing to provide water-use data that meets required standards.
The number of significant non-compliances reported for s14 Water Permits increased from 162 at the end of March 2026 to 211 at the end of June 2026. This increase does not indicate greater environmental risk or that consent holders have exceeded authorised water takes but reflects improved identification of missing or incomplete reporting. Accurate water-use data remains critical.
If you are aware of an environmental incident that seems time critical, please call our incident line on 0800 765 588 (24 hours). For a non-urgent issue report it via the report it form.