Flood protection and drainage bylaw
Environment Canterbury manages 59 river control and drainage schemes from Kaikōura to Waitaki, protecting a total asset value of $691 million.
The purpose of the flood protection and drainage bylaw is to manage, regulate and protect these assets, or those under our control, from inappropriate modification, damage or destruction.
It is also vital we keep up maintenance across our flooding and erosion control and drainage schemes to prevent damage or danger to nearby communities and keep people and properties safe.
The bylaw ensures all this happens. It was initially adopted in 2013 and subsequently reviewed in 2018.
If you are planning work in a scheme area that we manage, you may require written authority before carrying out certain activities.
Obtaining authority under the bylaw is free of charge; however, we need you to apply using this online form so we can ensure the activity doesn’t affect the integrity or effective operation of our schemes.
Bylaw documents
You can search for your property on Canterbury Maps to see if you are in a scheme area, or you can look on the individual maps below. The maps have been grouped into three Schedules, covering Flood Protection Schemes, Drainage Networks, or Floodways.
If you are considering undertaking an activity that may require Authority under the Bylaw, please ensure you refer to the maps that were updated in 2018 on Canterbury Maps.
If you are considering undertaking an activity that may require resource consent under the Land and Water Regional Plan, please ensure you refer to the original Bylaw maps on Canterbury Maps.
There are only minor differences between the two and in most places are the same, but please ensure you are referring to the line appropriate to your purpose.
Bylaw overview
Infrastructure protected by the bylaw includes, but is not limited to:
- Drains and small watercourses
- Floodways
- Defences against water including stopbanks, rock protection and groynes
- Floodgates and culverts
- Flood protection vegetation
- Hydrological devices and equipment
- Survey benchmarks
The types of activities that are likely to require prior written authority include, but are not limited to:
- Widening deepening and infilling any drain or small watercourse
- Altering, damaging or otherwise interfering with any drain or small watercourse, defences against water, flood protection vegetation, hydrological equipment and survey benchmarks
- Placing any material or structure in, on or near a drain or small water course or defence against water
- Connecting any pipe, channel or other flow conduit to a drain or small watercourse
- Allowing stock to damage drains or small watercourses, defences against water and flood protection vegetation
- Growing, damaging or removing flood protection vegetation
Open the Main Stopbanks flood protection Index Map and click on the map number that you would like to view, or view each map individually (Maps 1–72).
Map 1 - Schedule 1 - Kaikoura Rivers (PDF File, 945.44KB)
Map 2 - Schedule 1 - Chatterton and Percival Rivers (PDF File, 951.4KB)
Map 3 - Schedule 1 - Conway River (PDF File, 1.897.9KB)
Map 4 - Schedule 1 - Waiau River (PDF File, 869KB)
Map 5 - Schedule 1 - Waiau River (PDF File, 904KB)
Map 6 - Schedule 1 - Waiau River (PDF File, 825KMB)
Map 7 - Schedule 1 - Pahau and Hurunui Rivers (PDF File, 1.61MB)
Map 8 - Schedule 1 - Pahau River (PDF File, 1.55MB)
Map 9 - Schedule 1 - Kowai River (PDF File, 1.56MB)
Map 10 - Schedule 1 - Waimakariri and Eyre Rivers (PDF File, 1.64MB)
Map 11 - Schedule 1 - Eyre and Cust Rivers (PDF File, 1.64MB)
Map 12 - Schedule 1 - Ashley Rakahuri Cust and Eyre Rivers (PDF File, 1.57MB)
Map 13 - Schedule 1 - Ashley Rakahuri Cust and Eyre Rivers (PDF File, 2.13MB)
Map 14 - Schedule 1 - Ashley Rakahuri Cust and Eyre Rivers (PDF File, 1.29MB)
Map 15 - Schedule 1 - Dry Creek (PDF File, 1.61MB)
Map 16 - Schedule 1 - Waimakariri River (PDF File, 1.49MB)
Map 17 - Schedule 1 - Waimakariri River (PDF File, 1.52MB)
Map 18 - Schedule 1 - Waimakariri River (PDF File, 1.82MB)
Map 19 - Schedule 1 - Waimakariri River (PDF File, 2.56MB)
Map 20 - Schedule 1 - Rakaia River (PDF File, 1.42MB)
Map 21 - Schedule 1 - Hinds and Ashburton Hakatere Rivers (PDF File, 1.48MB)
Map 22 - Schedule 1 - Hinds and Ashburton Hakatere Rivers (PDF File, 1.68MB)
Map 23 - Schedule 1 - Hinds and Ashburton Hakatere Rivers (PDF File, 1.49MB)
Map 24 - Schedule 1 - Rakaia River (PDF File, 1.36MB)
Map 25 - Schedule 1 - Rakaia River (PDF File, 1.33MB)
Map 26 - Schedule 1 - Selwyn Waikirikiri and Rakaia Rivers (PDF File, 1.47MB)
Map 27 - Schedule 1 - Selwyn Waikirikiri River (PDF File, 1.64MB)
Map 28 - Schedule 1 - Selwyn Waikirikiri and Halswell Rivers (PDF File, 1.55MB)
Map 29 - Schedule 1 - Halswell River (PDF File, 1.66MB)
Map 30 - Schedule 1 - Opuha River (PDF File, 1.23MB)
Map 31 - Schedule 1 - Opuha River (PDF File, 1.29MB)
Map 32 - Schedule 1 - Orari River (PDF File, 1.49MB)
Map 33 - Schedule 1 - Orari and Rangitata Rivers (PDF File, 1.5MB)
Map 34 - Schedule 1 - Hinds River (PDF File, 1.4MB)
Map 35 - Schedule 1 - Hinds and Ashburton Hakatere Rivers (PDF File, 1.35MB)
Map 36 - Schedule 1 - Ashburton Hakatere River (PDF File, 1.69MB)
Map 37 - Schedule 1 - Rakaia River (PDF File, 1.4MB)
Map 38 - Schedule 1 - Prices Valley Stream (PDF File, 459.08KB)
Map 39 - Schedule 1 - Opihi and Opuha Rivers (PDF File, 1.65MB)
Map 40 - Schedule 1 - Opihi and Opuha Rivers (PDF File, 1.6MB)
Map 41 - Schedule 1 - Opuha River tributaries (PDF File, 1.45MB)
Map 42 - Schedule 1 - Rangitata Orari and Waihi Rivers (PDF File, 1.68MB)
Map 43 - Schedule 1 - Rangitata River (PDF File, 1.43MB)
Map 44 - Schedule 1 - Hinds River (PDF File, 1.37MB)
Map 45 - Schedule 1 - Ashburton Hakatere River (PDF File, 1.37MB)
Map 46 - Schedule 1 - Chertsey and Buttericks Drains (PDF File, 779.78KB)
Map 47 - Schedule 1 - Opihi and Tengawai Rivers (PDF File, 1.35MB)
Map 48 - Schedule 1 - Opihi and Tengawai Rivers (PDF File, 1.54MB)
Map 49 - Schedule 1 - Opihi Opuha and Tengawai Rivers (PDF File, 1.61MB)
Map 50 - Schedule 1 - Opihi Temuka and Waihi Rivers (PDF File, 1.69MB)
Map 51 - Schedule 1 - Orari and Rangitata Rivers (PDF File, 1.44MB)
Map 52 - Schedule 1 - Hinds River (PDF File, 635.24KB)
Map 53 - Schedule 1 - Tengawai River tributaries (PDF File, 1.38MB)
Map 54 - Schedule 1 - Tengawai River (PDF File, 1.49MB)
Map 55 - Schedule 1 - Pareora and Tengawai Rivers (PDF File, 1.52MB)
Map 56 - Schedule 1 - Washdyke and Seadown Rivers (PDF File, 1.26MB)
Map 57 - Schedule 1 - Otaio River (PDF File, 1.58MB)
Map 58 - Schedule 1 - Esk and Otaio Rivers (PDF File, 1.5MB)
Map 59 - Schedule 1 - Pareora River (PDF File, 978.43KB)
Map 60 - Schedule 1 - Waitaki River (PDF File, 1.49MB)
Map 61 - Schedule 1 - Waitaki River (PDF File, 1.55MB)
Map 62 - Schedule 1 - Hook and Waihao Rivers (PDF File, 1.42MB)
Map 63 - Schedule 1 - Waitaki River (PDF File, 1.61MB)
Map 64 - Schedule 1 - Waitaki River (PDF File, 1.19MB)
Map 65 - Schedule 1 - Waitaki River (PDF File, 1.09MB)
Map 66 - Schedule 1 - Waitaki River (PDF File, 1.07MB)
Map 67 - Schedule 1 - Omarama Stream (PDF File, 1.63MB)
Map 68 - Schedule 1 - Ohau River (PDF File, 1.51MB)
Map 69 - Schedule 1 - Ohau Pukaki Tekapo and Twizel Rivers (PDF File, 1.64MB)
Map 70 - Schedule 1 - Tekapo River (PDF File, 1.58MB)
Open the Drainage Networks Index Map below and click on the map number that you would like to view, or view each map individually (Maps 73–85).
Map - Schedule 2 - Major Drainage Networks - Index map (PDF File, 1.43MB)
Map 73 - Schedule 2 - Kaikoura (PDF File, 1.0MB)
Map 74 - Schedule 2 - Kaikoura (PDF File, 0.900MB)
Map 75 - Schedule 2 - Kaikoura (PDF File, 753KB)
Map 76 - Schedule 2 - Kaikoura (PDF File, 544.KB)
Map 77 - Schedule 2 - Halswell River (PDF File, 996KB)
Map 78 - Schedule 2 - Halswell River (PDF File, 1.0MB)
Map 79 - Schedule 2 - Halswell River (PDF File, 822KB)
Map 80 - Schedule 2 - Halswell River (PDF File, 835KB)
Map 81 - Schedule 2 - Halswell River (PDF File, 705KB)
Map 82 - Schedule 2 - Ashburton Hinds (PDF File, 880KB)
Map 83 - Schedule 2 - Ashburton Hinds (PDF File, 1.1MB)
Open the Floodway Area Index Map below and click on the map number that you would like to view, or you can view each map individually (Maps 86–92)
Map - Schedule 3 - Floodways - Index Map (PDF File, 1.4MB)
Map 86 - Schedule 3 - Dry Creek (PDF File, 638.8KB)
Map 87 - Schedule 3 - Rakaia North (PDF File, 870.3KB)
Map 88 - Schedule 3 - Rangitata River (PDF File, 835.3KB)
Map 89 - Schedule 3 - Rangitata River (PDF File, 523.1KB)
Map 90 - Schedule 3 - Coopers Creek (PDF File, 1.0MB)
Email floodbylaw@ecan.govt.nz for more information or contact customer services.