Improving water quality

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.