The Christchurch West Melton water zone is home to a mix of spring-fed streams and rivers, short steep creeks of the Port Hills and the large braided expanse of the Waimakariri River. The vision for the zone is for its urban waterways to be healthy and for its communities to have a potable supply of untreated groundwater into the future. Three rūnanga consider the zone part of their takiwā – Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga, Te Hapū ō Ngāti Wheke/Rapaki and Te Taumutu Rūnanga. The expansive wetlands that once covered large areas of the zone have always been an important place to live and gather food for Ngāi Tahu.

Zones updates, news and events

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A word from your chair

Read columns by the chair of the Christchurch West Melton water zone committee and view other updates.

Meet your zone representatives

Find out who your water zone committee members are and meet your on-the-ground zone delivery team.

Upcoming meetings and agendas

Find out when your zone's next meeting is and read the agenda.

Action on the ground

Check out how we're working to improve the ecological health of Christchurch's urban waterways.

Water conservation

Our water is too precious to waste; it is up to everyone to use it wisely.

Your natural environment

Discover the natural environment in the Christchurch West Melton zone.

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Sign up for newsletters and other important updates and ask questions using our online form.

Make a positive difference

Waterways can recover; however it takes a sustained effort over many years. Working together we can make a positive difference.

Biodiversity funding

Find out how to apply for funding for biodiversity projects in your area.

View agendas and meeting papers

Use our Document Library to find water zone committee agendas and meeting papers.

What does the Christchurch West Melton water zone committee do?

The committee works with an on-the-ground team made up of Environment Canterbury staff and other Canterbury Water Management Strategy partners to implement work programmes in the Christchurch West Melton area. To sign up for more information, click here.

What are we aiming to achieve by 2020?

We've agreed on several areas of priority and outcomes to budget for and act on in the Christchurch West Melton water zone, which we will measure progress against to 2020.

View the five-year delivery outcomes for Christchurch West Melton
  • Identify two significant wetlands for the development of management plans
  • Increase the awareness and understanding of biodiversity in both urban and rural environments
  • Create a multi-organisation working group to maximise biodiversity protection and enhancement
  • Increase the level of biodiversity enhancement and protection within identified priority areas
  • Support the protection and enhancement of spring heads
  • Establish a mosaic of ‘dryland park’ areas to enhance dryland biodiversity in the zone
  • Contribute to enhanced security of the Christchurch water supply

Zone Implementation Programmes

Zone Implementation Programmes or ZIPs were developed in the early stages of the zone committees' existence, following the adoption of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy.

While we may have moved on in terms of our priorities in each zone, ZIPs remain the foundation of the work we do.

The Christchurch West Melton ZIP can be found in our document library using the button below.