Waimakariri Land and Water Solutions Programme

Name

22 people responded anonymously via the website questionnaire

Alan Crowe

Alan Hawkins

Alex Dalzell

Alister Metherell

An O’Grady

Andrew Marwick

Beef and Lamb

Bob Gumbrell

Bowden Environmental

Canterbury District Health Board

Carleton Dairies Ltd

Carolyn Rossiter

Christchurch City Council

Christchurch West Melton Zone Committee

Craig McIntosh

Cust River Water Users Group

DairyNZ

Dan Harris

Department of Conservation

Dr Richard Lucy

Drucilla Kingi-Patterson

Environment Canterbury (Biodiversity and River Engineering)

Eyreton Produce Limited

Federated Farmers New Zealand

G Reed

Harry Meijer

Henry Wardell

Horticulture New Zealand

Holton Farm

James Ensor

James Parbery

Jenna Young

John and Lynn Madeley

John Larsen

John Murchison

Judy Ansen

Kaiapoi Tuaiwi Community Board

Kay Deer

Kelvin Belcher

Kerin and Erin Brown

Knightlea Ltd

Lesley Hurley

Linda Pocock

Louise Douglas

Mandeville Residents Association

Marilyn Dalzell

Mark Barlow

Michael Bate

Next Generation Farmers Group

Nekta Nutrition UK Ltd

Norm Trebilcock

North Canterbury Fish & Game Council

NZ Deer Farmers Association (Canterbury-West Coast Branch)

Oxford Ohoka Community Board

Penny Wright

R & G Rouse

Rangiora Ashley Community Board

Rangiora High School

Ravensdown

Ray Norris

Rhonda and Peter Sherriff

Richard Lucy

Richard Stalker

Robert Devlin

Rosemary Clark

Rosina & Graham Rouse, feedback supported by 27 other parties

Scott and Sarah Rossiter

Shaun Lissington

Te Kōhaka o Tūhaitara Trust

Thomas McBreaky

Waimakariri District Council (3 Waters)

Waimakariri Irrigation Ltd

Woodend Sefton Community Board

WJ & LE Bailey Farming Ltd

WJ Winter & Sons Ltd

*

The zone committee has worked with the community to develop nine freshwater outcomes 

1. The Ashley/Rakahuri River is safe for contact recreation, has improved river habitat, fish passage, and customary use; and has flows that support natural coastal processes

2. The Waimakariri River as a receiving environment is a healthy habitat for freshwater and coastal species, and is protected and managed as an outstanding natural landscape and recreation resource 

3. The water quality and quantity of spring-fed streams maintains or improves mahinga kai gathering and diverse aquatic life 

4. Highly reliable irrigation water, to a target of 95%, is available in the zone

5. Indigenous biodiversity in the zone is protected and improved 

6. The zone has safe and reliable drinking water, preferably from secure sources

7. Optimal water and nutrient management is common practice

8. Improved contribution to the regional economy from the zone

9. Land and freshwater management in the Waimakariri Zone will, over time, support the maintenance of the current high-quality drinking water from Christchurch’s aquifers.

Community engagement on the draft Zone Implementation Addendum was held between Wednesday 26 September and Wednesday 10 October. Various sessions were held in Kaiapoi, Pegasus, Oxford, Rangiora, Belfast and Ohoka Market.

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Silverstream, Courtenay stream, Greigs drain and Coastal streams water consent holder workshop

7 June 2018
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Ohoka water consent holder workshop
6 June 2018
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Cust Main Drain, Cust River, No.7 water consent holder workshop
31 May 2018
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Cam, North, Middle and South Brook water consent holder workshop
30 May 2018
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Eyre catchment discussion on nitrates meeting
2 May 2018

Saltwater Creek water consent holder workshop
24 April 2018
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Ashley River/ Rakahuri water consent holder workshop
19 April 2018
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Little Ashley, Taranaki and Waikuku water consent holder workshop
18 April 2018
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Community meetings to address nitrates in the Waimakariri Zone

Wednesday 18 July 2018
Thursday 19 July 2018
Wednesday 25 July 2018

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See Storymap for water consent holders workshops in November 2017 and Community meetings in Oct and Nov 2016 and April 2017.

Cultural assessment

• Cultural health assessments & water management for the Rakahuri – Waimakariri zone
  

Economics

• Waimakariri land and water solutions programme: Economic assessment of the current state

• Memo on N reduction implications V1 for July 2018 Community meetings

Estuary water quality and ecology

• Ecological and water quality assessment Ashley River Rakahuri Saltwater Creek Estuary (Te Akaaka)
  

• Te Aka Aka in the face of climate change
  

Farmer Panel Information

• Farmer engagement in Farming within Limits 2018

Groundwater

• Draft Groundwater allocation modelling results for Ashley River/Rakahuri /Rakahuri catchment
• Draft Groundwater allocation modelling results for northern Waimakariri tributaries catchment

• The current state of groundwater quality in the Waimakariri CWMS zone
  

• Private water supply wells – Waimakariri CWMS Zone

   

Land use

• Land use modelling for the Waimakariri land and water solutions programme
  

Nitrate Information

• Draft Nitrate modelling results for the Ashley catchment
• Nitrate assessment for the Northern Waimakariri catchment
• Nitrate assessment for the interzone transfer source catchment

• Integrated Water Quality Management Solution for the Waimakariri Zone Draft
  

• Nitrate assessment for Te Aka Aka (PDF File, 1.02MB)

Social and recreation

• Waimakariri zone socio-economic profile
  

• Waimakariri zone recreation: Current state report
  

Surface water quantity

• Draft Memo Water use and allocation (Waimak tributaries) v0.4 14 May 2018 (PDF File, 1.76MB)
• Draft Memo Environmental flow regime for the Ashley Rakahuri catchment 26 March 2018 (PDF File, 3.06MB)

• Evaluation of environmental flow regime options for the northern lowland tributaries of the Waimakariri River

• Draft Ecological report Ashley River/Rakahuri: Minimum Flow Assessment for Ashley Gorge
  

• Minimum Flow Assessments for Spring fed tributaries of the lower Ashley River/Rakahuri (Water ways Consulting 2017)
  

• Draft Ecological report to Evaluation of environmental flow regime options for the Ashley River and its tributaries
  

• Draft Ecological report to Minimum Flows and Aquatic Ecological Values of Lower Waimakariri River tributaries
  

• Coastal Streams SWAZ
  

• Permitted water use Waimakariri - FINAL
  

• Waimakariri Resource Consent Inventory with appendices 2019 (PDF File, 4.57MB)
• Memo on stormwater management within the Waimakariri Zone

Surface water quality and ecology

• Current Pathways: assessment of ecosystem effects preliminary results
• Alternative Pathways: assessment of ecosystem effects
• Kaiapoi River water quality, and value of community monitoring observations

• Waimakariri Zone water quality and ecology: State and trend
  

• Modelling Biodiversity Outcomes for the Waimakariri Zone
  

• Instream Ecosystems Issues and Options - A3 summary of initial consultation
  

• Instream Ecosystems Management Options memo - 27 Nov 2017
  

• Workshop Instream Ecosystem Appendix 5_Final
  

• Instream ecosystem recommendations - with ZC feedback

• Proposed Waimakariri Coastal zone
  

• Reach-scale characteristics, values and issues summary handout
• Waimakariri Zone Solution toolbox for managing stream ecosystem issues handout

Read older technical reports

You can access information on the Waimakariri Land & Water Solutions Programme – Current State, Current Pathway prior to the 1st January 2018 here.

Further information, including frequently asked questions and feedback on the Waimakariri Land and Water Solutions Programme can also be found here.

What is the Waimakariri Water Zone Implementation Programme Addendum?

The Waimakariri Water Zone Committee has been working with the community over the past few years to develop a shared vision for freshwater in the zone.

A series of recommendations that set out on the ground actions to help address land and freshwater challenges in the zone have been developed and these are reflected in the committee’s draft Zone Implementation Programme Addendum (ZIPA).

Now the recommendations have been accepted by councils, they will inform plans for water management.

Once finalised, the recommendations will inform council plans for water management. This will be done by Envirnment Canterbur through a formal plan change to the Waimakariri section 8 of the Canterbury Land Water Regional Plan.

What is the Zone Committee recommending and why?

The zone committee’s recommendations fall in to five key areas. The table below identifies these key areas and provides an example of the kinds of actions that could help freshwater challenges in the zone.

Key area	Recommendation example
Improving stream health	Broad suite of recommendations to manage run-off contaminants, sediment and riparian planting through practical actions and catchment plans; education and support to landowners; additional protection for aquatic species; barriers to fish passage; extending stock exclusion rules to drains and springs; and additional monitoring.
Protecting and Enhancing Indigenous biodiversity	Recommendations to enhance Ngāi Tūāhuriri values and indigenous terrestrial, freshwater and estuarine biodiversity; support for community groups and implementation of the Canterbury Regional Biodiversity Strategy; and a working group and investigation and monitoring programme for the Ashley Estuary (Te Aka Aka).
Reducing nitrates	Nitrate limits for rivers and drinking water supply wells; a Nitrate Priority Management Area and staged approach to reducing nitrate losses from farms (beyond GMP); non-statutory actions including managed aquifer recharge; changes to permitted activity areas for winter grazing of cattle; and monitoring and review.
Managing Surface water Quantity	Changes to minimum flows and allocation limits for rivers and methods to address over-allocation.
Managing Groundwater Quantity	Changes to Groundwater Allocation Zones and groundwater allocation limits to better manage the groundwater resource in the zone.

How will the recommendations be implemented?

Once finalised, the recommendations will inform council plans for water management.
This will be done by Environment Canterbury through a formal plan change to the Waimakariri section 8 of the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan.

The Waimakariri District Council will consider the recommendations when they review their district plan. The community will have a chance to submit on both formal processes.

There will also be practical actions the community, industry, and other organisations can make to reflect the intent of the recommendations. For urban people this could be as simple as washing your car on the lawn instead of your driveway so toxins don’t enter our streams via the wastewater system.

What initiatives are currently underway to improve water quality?

The Waimakariri Water Zone Committee provides funding for Immediate Steps Projects for community groups and farmers who are making positive changes on their land and across Waimakariri’s waterways.

An infiltration trial and denitrification wall trial are underway at Silverstream to assess their effectiveness in reducing nitrate levels. Waterways are being fenced off with larger setbacks from streams and rivers and riparian planting projects are being carried out across the zone.

Irrigation schemes are using cloud-based technology to provide farmers with science-based information to promote effective use of irrigation. Most farmers across the zone are well on the way to reaching Good Management Practice and have made on-farm changes to reduce their impact on the environment.

Community groups are carrying out also riparian planting projects with assistance from the zone committee. This helps reduce the amount of contaminants entering our waterways.

In regards of Good Management Practice and managing nitrates, what is the Zone Committee’s starting point?

The Waimakariri Water Zone Committee’s starting point for managing nitrates is Plan Change 5 to the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan.
When Plan Change 5 becomes operative it will bring in new definitions, policies, rules, limits and schedules to require, from July 2020, farming activities to operate at “Good Management Practice” including for nitrate loss.

However, science information highlights that Good Management Practice under Plan Change 5 will not be enough to meet the nitrate limits proposed for some rivers and drinking water supply wells. Therefore, the Zone Committee is recommending that landowners reduce their nitrate losses “beyond Good Management Practice” in the part of the zone that it has called a Nitrate Priority Management Area.

How do the recommendations address nitrate issues in the zone?

They propose farming activities within the zone will need to comply with new nutrient management rules and adopt good management practices (GMP) to reduce the impact their operation has on our land and waterways.

A Nitrate Priority Management Area has also been established where further reductions in nitrate losses will need to be made over time to protect and enhance freshwater quality.

The draft recommendations require consented dairy farms to reduce losses by a further 10-15% beyond what is required by GMP and all other consented farming activities will need to reduce losses by 5-10% over time.
Nitrate concentrations will be monitored to see whether further reductions need to be made.

Why are you proposing a staged approach to the further nitrate reductions?

The zone committee has tried to find a balance between moving as fast as possible towards meeting nitrate concentrations that support healthy ecosystems and Ngāi Tūāhuriri values while at the same time, providing for a future that supports the lifestyles and communities of Waimakariri.

The staged approach sets clear expectations that further reductions will be needed whilst also providing an opportunity to adapt the steps in response to new information on progress towards meeting the limits, new tools and management practices.

Will lifestyle/small block owners be affected?

The zone committee wants to extend a pilot education programme targeted at small block holders and promote the development of Lifestyle Block Management Plans.

In Plan Change 5 to the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan, it was found that the permitted winter grazing allowances potentially allowed for further increases in nitrate losses.

This means some small block owners who may not have needed a consent will now need to get consent if their property is a certain size and the amount of area they are providing for winter grazing. See Section D3 in the draft ZIPA for details.

How is Winter Grazing defined?

In Plan Change 5 is it defined as meaning the grazing of cattle within the period of 1 May to 30 September, where the cattle are contained for break-feeding of in-situ brassica and root vegetable forage crops or for consuming supplementary feed that has been brought onto the property.