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Waimakariri River Regional Plan changes due to become operative

Environment Canterbury

Friday 27 May 2011, 2:20PM

By Environment Canterbury

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CANTERBURY

Environment Canterbury Commissioners at this week’s council meeting confirmed changes to the Waimakariri River Regional Plan which will become operative on Saturday June 11, 2011.

A review of the Waimakariri River Regional Plan, operative since 2004, was brought about by increasing demand for more water for irrigation, including a resource consent granted to Central Plains Water.

Plan Change 1 to the Waimakariri River Regional Plan was originally notified in August 2009 with around 100 submissions heard between April and September 2010.

“We believe Plan Change 1 will protect the river’s natural, cultural, recreational and environmental values and be consistent with the vision and principles of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy,” said Environment Canterbury Commissioner Peter Skelton.

“The independent hearing commissioners have done a very thorough job of assessing the pressures on the Waimakariri River and we thank the many submitters who gave their time and energy to this process.

“The hearing commissioners have benefited from the information coming through applications such as that of Central Plains Water and the many expert witnesses common to both those applications and Plan Change 1.

“They have considered a wide and inclusive range of matters pertinent to the Waimakariri catchment and the greater Christchurch and Central Plains area.“

Summary and key changes

  • The Waimakariri River’s minimum flow has been increased to 46 cumecs (cubic metres per second) compared with 41 cumecs previously.
  • The measuring site for minimum water flow in the Waimakariri River has been moved from the Old Highway Bridge, near Kainga/Kaiapoi, to Otarama, near Springfield.
  • There are now three categories of water allocations: AA, A and B permits.
  • The A-block allocation of 22 cumecs has been split into AA (5 cumecs) and A (17 cumecs).
  • For the B-block allocation 27 cumecs are available. The minimum flow for the B-block, however, has been increased to 68 cumecs, from 63 cumecs. B-block permits are subject to a one-to-one sharing regime which means for every two cumecs of flow, one can be taken by consent holders.