New targeted rate mooted for flood-prone Canterbury river

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

Some Waimakariri residents may be charged a future targeted rate to help fund flood protection work on a North Canterbury river.

Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon says he is open to an Environment Canterbury (ECan) proposal for an Ashley/Rakahuri River rate to protect Rangiora against flooding.

He said it was time to consider funding river resilience ‘‘on a more equitable basis’’, including co-funding from the Government.

‘‘I look forward to discussing more with ECan what exactly is being proposed and how that would look.

‘‘I think we can all agree that what we have in place currently is not broad enough to cover all of the issues and it is timely to review.’’

There were river rating areas in place for the upper Ashley River, but not for the lower reaches, making it difficult for the two councils to fund river resilience work.

ECan and other regional councils have been advocating for central Government support for river resilience projects for several years.

It led to the ‘Before the Deluge' report, which was released just before Cyclone Gabrielle struck parts of the North Island last year.

The Government recently made funding available as part of its new regional infrastructure fund in Budget 2024.

ECan acting chairperson Craig Pauling said the council had asked for $38 million and so far has received $9.5m.

The initial funding would help with three projects, including upgrades to critical and aged flood management infrastructure across the region to make it more resilient to the changing climate.

Further work on the Rangitata flood resilience programme and projects in South Canterbury will also be funded.

Pauling said the council’s priority was building up the strength of its various catchments, with many of them not already rated.

‘‘It helps us to get on and get it sorted and get those rivers more resilient and communities protected.

‘‘Otherwise it will take us a generation to do it.’’

A targeted rate was introduced for the Selwyn district as part of Environment Canterbury’s 2024-34 Long Term Plan and now the council is looking at other rivers, including the Ashley River.

Pauling said he was hopeful of receiving more funding, with a further $100m still to be allocated.

ECan has also called for a braided river definition to be included in the Government’s legislation to replace the Resource Management Act.

‘‘Because there hasn’t been a definition we have had all sorts of issues come up and it is part of our wider river resilience work,’’ Pauling said.

‘‘The current definition in the RMA is based on a river, but what is a river?

‘‘Some rivers don’t move much, but braided rivers are different and change path a lot and so there needs to be an understanding of where the natural system is.’’

Braided rivers were defined in the previous Labour Government’s Natural and Built Environments Act, which has since been repealed by the National-led Government.

■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.