Selwyn District river resilience work
The 2021 Canterbury floods highlighted the need for more investment in river resilience around the Waikirikiri Selwyn River, and a broader catchment-wide approach. Help us shape future work plans and priorities for this area.
Flood protection work is usually funded from rates paid by River Rating Districts (RRD).
There are six RRDs in the Selwyn District, but they only cover a small part of the area that needs river work.
Funding for flood and river resilience work
Through our Long-Term Plan (LTP) consultation, the community supported a targeted rate to prioritise work across the Waikirikiri/Selwyn River and its tributaries (particularly the Hororata, Waianiwaniwa and Hawkins Rivers).
This rate will be used to provide dedicated support and increased flood and river resilience work across the whole Selwyn District.
A total of $200,000 will be collected for Selwyn District flood and river resilience work in 2024/25 (Year 1 of the LTP), increasing to $400,000 by 2026/27.
The money collected from this targeted rate will be used to fund initial work in this area, including:
- clearing out channels and flow paths
- weed control
- planting activities
- development of a work programme for the next three years he investigation into flood protection upgrades for Hororata, Springfield and Coalgate.
Prioritising river resilience work across the Waikirikiri/Selwyn River and its tributaries
Your input shapes future flood protection work
We’ve developed a work plan for 2024-25 based on the local community’s feedback through the LTP consultation and discussions at catchment meetings. We want to plan ahead and your ongoing input is crucial.
We want to hear about:
- What’s happening in the Waikirikiri Selwyn River and tributaries including Hororata, Hawkins, and Waianiwaniwa Rivers, or common breakout paths such as the Irwell River?
- Any changes or issues you've noticed (flooding, restricted flows, gravel buildup, weeds, willow congestion, erosion).
- Any sites of significance to the local community that might be affected by works in the river (especially community planting sites).
Share your feedback to shape the future of flood and river resilience work in the Waikirikiri Selwyn area. Community feedback form
Mapping river resilience issue points
Explore our interactive map to view known issue points within our focus area. We'll update it starting in early 2025 to reflect:
- where we're working
- project progress across the district.
If you report an issue using the form above, we'll investigate and add it to the map as appropriate.
Selwyn District river resilience rate progress map
Map navigation tips:
- zoom in on location icons for satellite imagery
- left-click and drag to move around the map
- right-click and drag to rotate the view.
For the best experience on smaller screens, turn your mobile to landscape.
