What's happening in my water zone?

We're engaging with communities to protect and improve the quality of streams, rivers, lakes, estuaries and groundwater throughout Canterbury. Decisions on water allocation and nutrient management are driven by recommendations from water zone committees in 10 areas. Find your water zone on the map(external link).

About the water zone committees

Water zone committees work with the community to deliver Canterbury Water Management Strategy targets.

Regional Water Management Committee

Find out more about the committee’s purpose and what they do to uphold the mana of the freshwater bodies within the Canterbury Region.

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Kaikōura water zone

The Kaikōura water zone is one of the most tectonically active parts of New Zealand and features diverse landscapes, biodiversity and land uses over short distances.

Hurunui Waiau Uwha water zone

The Hurunui Waiau Uwha water zone features Lake Sumner, the alpine Hurunui and Waiau rivers, the hill-fed Waipara and Conway rivers, as well as coastal wetlands and coastal hills.

Waimakariri water zone

The Waimakariri water zone lies north of the Waimakariri River and extends from Pegasus Bay in the east to the Puketeraki Range in the west.

Christchurch West Melton water zone

The Christchurch West Melton water zone is home to spring-fed streams and rivers, aquifer zones, the Port Hills and the braided Waimakariri River.

Banks Peninsula water zone

The Banks Peninsula water zone is made up of eroded volcanic domes that have been breached by the sea. Its catchments are short, steep and prone to flash flooding.

Selwyn Waihora water zone

The Selwyn Waihora water zone stretches from the upper Waimakariri basin and the high country around Lake Coleridge down to Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere.

Ashburton water zone

The Ashburton water zone is bordered by two large braided rivers — the Rakaia and Rangitata, which have their headwaters in the Southern Alps.

Ōrāri Temuka Ōpihi Pareora water zone

The Ōrāri Temuka Ōpihi Pareora water zone has hill-fed braided rivers and coastal areas with strong and complex links between ground and surface water.

Upper Waitaki water zone

The Upper Waitaki catchment is almost completely derived from glacial activity with features ranging from alpine ice fields and lakes to braided river plains.

Lower Waitaki South Coastal Canterbury water zone

The Lower Waitaki South Coastal Canterbury water zone features spring-fed streams, coastal lagoons, complex groundwater flows and part of the Waitaki River.