Rivers

A drain runs through my property. What are my responsibilities regarding the drain? Please refer to the Environment Canterbury website (see link below) or we can send you a brochure called “Working together to maintain our drains.” ...
Am I charged if I don’t extract any gravel? Yes. The charge is for ‘consented’ volume regardless of what is actually extracted ...
Can I access all river beds in Canterbury? Access to river beds in Canterbury is subject to landowners permission where the river beds are on private land. To be sure who owns the area of riverbed you want to enter you wil ...
Can I alter my consent to reduce the gravel volume I am being charged for? You can use the Request to Surrender Resource Consent form to surrender part of your consent. As an example, if you are consented to extract from several sites each with a permitt ...
Can I collect firewood from riverbeds under Environment Canterbury administration? You can collect firewood for private use only from the following areas: Waimakariri River and Ashley River/Rakahuri - please refer to the fire wood collection rules for the Wa ...
Can I dump material in riverbeds? Dumping of materials in riverbeds is not a permitted activity under the Resource Management Act (RMA). You must obtain a resource consent. Alternatively you can take your material ...
Can I extract gravel from areas where consents are held by the Regional Engineer? Contact the Gravel Resources Officer. ...
Can I gain an exemption from the gravel charge? Gravel extracted under Chapter 6, Rule BLR3 of the Natural Resources Regional Plan and Rule 7.1 of the Waimakariri River Regional Plan will not incur the ‘gravel charge’. Consen ...
Can I shoot rabbits or possums in Canterbury riverbeds? Generally you have to ask the riverbed owners for permission. Riverbed ownership is complicated. It cannot be assumed that riverbeds are all in public ownership. There are many ar ...
Can I surrender my gravel take consent if I no longer require it? If you no longer require the consent it can be surrendered. If you wish to surrender your consent so that no further charges are incurred, then you can do so by notifying Environm ...
Do I need a resource consent for taking gravel? Yes. The Resource Management Act states that you do. However, when the Natural Resources Regional Plan Chapter 6, which has been notified, is adopted there is provision within tha ...
How are my gravel charges determined? To make for the economic recovery of the ‘charge’, a matrix has been developed that considers the consented volume and duration. Depending on where your application falls withi ...
How can I be kept informed about gravel take issues? Environment Canterbury has been preparing the Gravel Take newsletter on a irregular basis. This will be available to the public very soon on the Environment Canterbury website. Fo ...
How can I find out about Environment Canterbury flood protection measures? To find out about Environment Canterbury flood protection measures please view the Long Term Council Community Plan. You can find some more information on the Environment Canterbu ...
How can I find out about the regular drain maintenance on my property? Please contact the depot supervisor for your area about regular drain maintenance. For contact details of our depot supervisors and more information please refer to the Environmen ...
How can I find out about the swimming water quality for Canterbury beaches and rivers? To find out about the swimming water quality for Canterbury beaches and rivers please go to the Environment Canterbury water quality website. ...
How can I find out which drain Environment Canterbury is responsible for? In general Environment Canterbury (ECan) is responsible for drains within its Drainage Rating Districts. Customer services staff will be able to help identify particular drains EC ...
How can I have my say about gravel issues? In submissions to the 2007/08 Annual Plan, where the gravel charge was notified, submitters requested that they be given a ‘voice’ in the management of the gravel resource. Cou ...
I found an algal bloom in the river/lake/sea. Can I still swim in it? Never swim or take part in any activity that may result in accidental consumption or exposure to water affected by algal blooms if a health warning is in place for that area, even ...
I have sighted salmon in a nearby waterway. Who should I report the sighting to? Reports of salmon and other important species can be forwarded to Environment Canterbury's surface water quality team. The information is helpful in determining consent applicatio ...
I need to do some emergency flood repair works. You can protect your life and property during an emergency as long as your actions are reasonable. There are no specific authorisations in the RMA for a person to be exempt from r ...
I want to buy a property. Can I get information about this property from Environment Canterbury? Yes - Environment Canterbury may hold information on natural and physical resources relevant to a property. You can request this information through a Land Information Request. Y ...
Is Meridian planning on releasing water from a dam anytime soon? Meridian sends status reports to the Environment Canterbury flood controller about when they plan to release water. ...
What are AMF rights? AMF stands for the Latin term " ad medium filium". AMF rights refer to a general principle in common law that, where a river abuts a property and connection is not inter ...
What are Mining Privileges? The oldest mining privileges were granted last century and included water race licences which give property owners rights to use water in certain streams for mining activities. As ...
What are the Environment Canterbury river engineers responsible for? Environment Canterbury river engineers are responsible for managing the Council's 63 catchment rating districts. managing river gravel resources flood control structur ...
What does the gravel charge pay for? All monies collected will be spent on gravel management only, namely: Improved data collection: extending the existing survey networks, extending the programme to include river ...
What happens when I can’t exercise my gravel take consent because of minimum bed level conditions? Any consents granted pre-1 July 2007, when the ‘gravel charge’ was adopted in the 2007-2008 Annual Plan will be considered on an individual basis. Those granted after that time ...
What involvement does Environment Canterbury have in closing or opening the old Waimakariri bridge? Environment Canterbury provides river flow information about the Waimakariri river to the Christchurch City Council who makes a decision about closing the old Highway bridge as a ...
What is a surveyor's declaration? A surveyor's declaration confirms that a particular propety is free of flooding. It is usually required for accretion claims. ...
What is the Gravel Availability? Contact the Gravel Resources Officer. ...
What is the Waimakariri River flood protection project about? The proposed Waimakariri Flood Protection Project is designed to provide additional protection to the residents of Christchurch city, Selwyn and Waimakariri districts from the eff ...
What kind of flood can the Waimakariri River flood protection cope with? The current Waimakariri River flood protection is designed to cope with a flood of 4730 cumecs (cubic metres per second). The worst case flood is about 8000 cumecs. The normal flo ...
What things do I need to consider before lodging an application and deposit for a Resource Consent for taking gravel? Contact the Gravel Resources Officer. ...
What will Gravel Management accomplish? It will help determine and define what the sustainable supply for the region is and will assist in managing river floodway capacity. It will allow us to manage demand in a fair an ...
What work is Environment Canterbury doing on the Waimakariri stop banks, upstream of the State Highway One bridge? Environment Canterbury Regional Council will be undertaking stop bank upgrade works located near Dickeys Road, Rushmore Drive, Langley Place and Darroch Street. The work generally ...
What work is Environment Canterbury planning to complete around the old Waimakariri highway bridge area? Environment Canterbury Regional Council will be undertaking rock protection work on the north abutments of the State Highway1 Bridge, Old Highway Bridge and Rail Bridge. The wo ...
Where can I get information on which River Rating District our property is in? You can look this up in River Rating District maps. Please contact Customer Services for maps. ...
Where can I request a Resource Consent Application Form for the Extraction of Gravel Environment Canterbury has very good information regarding gravel charges and gravel related questions on its website. For the answer to this question and more information on grav ...
Who can I contact about whitebaiters in the river? The whitebait regulations are administered by Department of Conservation, people can contact their local office, or call 03 341 9102, or check www.doc.govt.nz/whitebaitingThe rule ...
Who can I report dumped rubbish, cars or other materials in riverbeds to? If you find dumped rubbish, cars or other materials in Canterbury riverbeds please ring the Environment Canterbury Pollution Hotline. If the rubbish is in the Waimakariri River Re ...
Who do I report damage to flood protection structures to? Please contact Environment Canterbury Customer Services. ...
Who is dealing with rubbish in the Ashley River/Rakahuri? If you find rubbish in the Ashley River/Rakahuri please contact Customer Services. They will contact the Regional Parks Rangers for the rubbish to be removed. ...
Who is responsible for river erosion control? Adjoining property owners are responsible for any work to prevent or repair riverbank erosion unless either a community scheme or rating district has been established to manage su ...
Who is responsible for the opening of Lake Forsyth/Te Wairewa? The Christchurch City Council has a statutory responsibility to manage the lake levels to avoid flooding. The openings are done in association with the local Rūnanga - Te Rūnanga ...
Who maintains the water races on Environment Canterbury leased land? The maintenance of water races are usually the responsibility of district or city councils. ...
Why a gravel charge? In 2005 it was observed in some rivers that gravel extraction could be having an adverse effect on the integrity of the infrastructure including River Rating District assets. Coun ...
Why do you plant willows and poplars along some Canterbury rivers? Willows and poplars are used for flood protection. They are easy to propagate, vigorous growers and have extensive rooting systems. They help to protect soil, gravel and rocks fro ...
Why haven’t I been informed of drain maintenance that happened recently on my farm? Environment Canterbury tries to make contact with landowners prior to entering a property; however, this is not always possible and you may see drain maintenance work being undert ...
Won’t charging for gravel take drive extractors away from the rivers leaving mountains of gravel to block the channel? Submissions to the Regional Gravel Management Report supported ECan as being the lead agency for gathering and analysing fluvial gravel data and making that information available ...

Rivers

Popular Answers

Recent Additions

Online monitoring

Publications

Find information

Environment Canterbury Customer Service