Water / Wai

Issue

Water quality in many parts of Waitaha/Canterbury is degraded due to human activities.

Causes

Changes in land use in a catchment, with urban growth or changes in farming practice, can result in poorer water quality or more sediment entering waterways. Climate change also has significant impacts on water quality in our region.

Why does it matter

Degraded water quality can negatively affect the mauri of water. It reduces the life-supporting capacity of water to provide a healthy habitat for our ecosystems, including mahinga kai. It can also impact the safety of water to drink, and the use of water in our rivers and lakes for customary, recreational, and commercial purposes. Many activities impacting water quality also generate significant greenhouse gas emissions.

These are our goals

The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (2020) requires us to manage water in accordance with Te Mana o Te Wai, which means prioritising:

• First, the health and wellbeing of water bodies and freshwater ecosystems
• Second, the health needs of people (such as drinking water)
• Third, the ability of people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural wellbeing, now and in the future.

This will likely require significant infrastructure improvements and changes in the land uses in our catchments over time. This tradeoff becomes more apparent the more ambitious our goals become.

Issue

Many rivers and lakes in Waitaha/Canterbury have reduced flows, levels, or modified natural characteristics due to human activities.

Causes

This can be caused by unsustainable water removal, damming, and diverting of surface water and groundwater. Climate change hazards also impact on freshwater flows and levels.

Why it matters

Freshwater ecosystems and the natural character of rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands and aquifers are dependent on sufficient surface water flows and groundwater levels. Unsustainable removal of freshwater impacts natural flow and level characteristics which compromise the health of the ecosystems they support. Removing too much water can also increase the frequency and duration of dry river reaches, particularly when combined with the impact of climate change on natural flows. Reduced flows can impact the ability of rivers and lakes to dilute contaminants, leading to higher instream contaminant concentrations. Some land-use activities that rely on freshwater may also have an impact on greenhouse gas emissions.

The levels and flows of rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands and aquifers affects their mauri, which is of utmost importance to mana whenua. The relationship between mana whenua and freshwater forms a fundamental part of cultural identity, and degraded mauri negatively effects this relationship.

Our current goals

The current goal is to manage freshwater quantity in an integrated and sustainable way that protects intrinsic values of rivers, lakes, streams, wetlands and aquifers while maximising the ability of freshwater to increase economic productivity and the area of land irrigated in the region.

The current method of achieving this goal is to set minimum flow and allocation limits that protect base flows, flow variability and water levels, while also providing reliability of supply for customary use, community needs and economic purposes. High-flow harvesting and water storage are supported in limit setting, while requirements to use water more efficiently allows allocated water to support further development. Where allocation limits are exceeded, overallocation must be phased out over time.

Issue

The special qualities of our iconic alpine lakes, braided rivers, coastal and other waterbodies are vulnerable to impacts from a wide range of developments and activities, some of which are difficult to identify and manage and are associated with activities necessary to support the needs of our communities.

Causes

Impacts on waterbodies are caused by activities within and outside of those waterbodies and their margins through direct, indirect and/or cumulative adverse effects. These impacts are likely to be intensified by climate change.

Why it matters

The natural character of rivers, lakes and other waterbodies in Waitaha/Canterbury are an important part of our regional identity and significantly contribute to the social and economic wellbeing of our communities. The natural character of our waterbodies are integral to the mahinga kai customs and values of Ngāi Tahu, and several waterbodies and surrounding areas are associated with Statutory Acknowledgement Areas and nohoanga (seasonally-occupied) sites. These special qualities of waterbodies can be vulnerable to impacts from a wide range of human activities, including activities that are important for community wellbeing such as flood management or essential infrastructure. The natural character of waterbodies also contributes to and can be influenced by the surrounding landscape.

Our current goals

Our Regional Policy Statement includes some direction which must be implemented and other direction which should be implemented. We have included these in two categories below:

1. Things we must do

This is very strong policy direction that is required to be implemented:

• Ensure we put in place ways to preserve the natural character of rivers, lakes and wetlands and their margins, including those in the coastal environment.
• Engage with Ngāi Tahu to identify values relevant to the protection and enhancement of rivers and lakes.
• Provide for appropriate activities that support the wellbeing of our communities, in particular for management of flood risk and for essential structures.
• Support appropriate existing public access to and along rivers and lakes.

2. Things we should do

This policy direction is strongly encouraged:

• Provide greater protection where significant natural character values exist.
• Provide for the integrated nature of whole catchments in managing and enabling activities in rivers and lakes
• Support appropriate new access to and along rivers and lakes.
• Promote further initiatives to incentivise the preservation of the natural qualities of our region's waterbodies

Should we change our goals?

When we consider changing goals, we need to keep in mind that other on-the-ground changes will be required to meet them. We also need to keep in mind that some of our must-do policy direction was necessary to meet the national legislation requirements of the time. Some new must do’s will be needed in order to meet recent legislation.

Potential impacts of changing our policy direction

We have outlined some of the potential consequences of changing our policy direction. These are high-level examples, just to illustrate that each change will have flow-on effects.

If we change our goals, we will need to consider what else will need to change to meet them.

Putting in place stronger controls to preserve the natural character of our region’s waterbodies might also mean more restrictions on the activities that can take place in certain places. For example, an irrigator may find there are greater controls on their ability to divert a braid of a braided river to their irrigation intake; or a groyne proposed to reduce erosion on a farm may be considered inappropriate as it impacts on the natural character of the river. This in turn could affect community wellbeing through greater limitations on the types of farming, forestry and other rural or recreational activities that can take place. It may also affect the cost of maintaining or building infrastructure to avoid compromising natural character.

We are using the feedback we received during July and August to draft more detailed policy options, including detail about the consequences of change. You will get another opportunity to tell us what you think about those options from October this year.

Issue

Despite the efforts of many landowners, organisations and community groups, we are still losing indigenous biodiversity throughout Waitaha/Canterbury

Causes

Habitat destruction and fragmentation, invasive species, climate change, and the impacts of use and development on land, freshwater, and the coastal environment.

Why it matters

Indigenous animals and plants are precious taonga. They are important to our national identity and enhance our recreational experiences. They are part of tikanga Māori (beliefs, values and customary practices) and whakapapa, (ancestry, belonging) and many species are important mahinga kai (traditional food sources). Some species have roles in keeping our water clean, our soils fertile and in helping reduce flooding. Healthy indigenous ecosystems can sequester more carbon and be more resilient to the impacts of climate change. There are many ways indigenous species and habitats contribute to our economy, such as through our fisheries and as a drawcard for tourism.

Our current goals

Our Regional Policy Statement includes some direction which must be implemented and other direction which should be implemented. We have included these in two categories below:

1. Things we must do

This is very strong policy direction that is required to be implemented:

• To protect Canterbury’s areas and habitats of significant indigenous plants and animals from the adverse effects of activities, development and land use.
• To enhance the relationship of Ngāi Tahu with their sites and habitats of biodiversity of cultural significance.

2. Things we should do

This policy direction is strongly encouraged:

• To promote the improvement and protection of the long-term viability of regionally and nationally prioritised indigenous ecosystems in Canterbury.
• To promote more initiatives that protect and enhance Canterbury’s indigenous biodiversity.

Should we change our goals?

When we consider changing goals, we need to keep in mind that other on-the-ground changes will be required to meet them. We also need to keep in mind that some of our must-do policy direction was necessary to meet the national legislation requirements of the time. Some new must do’s will be needed to meet more recent legislation.

Potential impacts of changing our policy direction

We have outlined some of the potential consequences that could result from changing our policy direction. These are high-level examples, just to illustrate that each change will have flow-on effects.

For example to achieve better protection of our remaining indigenous biodiversity, we may need to consider the impacts from a wider range of land uses or activities or to manage them in a way that better protects our indigenous plants and animals for future generations. Changing the goals from protection towards restoration and enhancement could improve the viability of our ecosystems and community well-being into the future, but will require significant public investment to achieve.

We are using the feedback we received during July and August to draft more detailed policy options, including detail about the consequences of change. You will get another opportunity to tell us what you think about those options from October this year.