River Rating District Liaison Committee Meetings

Public meeting to discuss lower Waitaki River erosion

As a ratepayer for the Lower Waitaki River Rating District, you are invited to a public meeting to discuss remediation works and gather community views on the proposed work and funding model.

All Lower Waitaki River Rating District ratepayers are welcome. Your rates notice will indicate if you are a ratepayer of this district.

Background

Environment Canterbury coordinates river engineering work in the Waitaki River downstream of the Waitaki dam on behalf of the Lower Waitaki Rating District (Canterbury and Otago ratepayers).

The objective of this work is to control unwanted vegetation growth in the central part of the riverbed and encourage vegetation growth on the on the river berms/margins.

This work limits the extent of erosion in the riverbed margins and adjacent productive land with the aim of protecting people and property from flooding.

Over the summer of 2019/2020 there were a series of heavy rainfall events in the Southern Alps that filled the lakes in the upper catchment and resulted in high flows in the lower river system.

• These very high flow events, followed by subsequent continuous high flows in the river, have caused significant erosion at 13 different locations down the river.
• To control the erosion at the 13 locations will require remediation work with an estimated cost of $1 million.
• These costs are additional to the existing routine river control program costing approximately $500,000 which is currently financed through an existing funding model.
• The proposal uses that same funding model to raise the extra $1 million required for a program of remediation at each of the 13 sites.
• As yet, no decisions regarding remediation of the erosion have been made.

Comments

We acknowledge that this meeting may be short notice for you and sincerely apologise in advance if you cannot attend.

If you cannot attend and would like to make any comments on this matter please address them to shaun.mccracken@ecan.govt.nz and ensure they are received by Monday, 3 August 2020.

If you have any questions, contact customer services on 0800 324 636 ask for Shaun McCracken.