​​​​​Land Drainage Summary

​​Over​view

​Coun​cil manages 10 drainage schemes covering 22,472 hectares within the Selwyn District as shown in Figure 1 below. These schemes are in place to drain groundwater (primary function) and convey stormwater (secondary function). One scheme is specifically for the purpose of flood protection, Bealey River stopbanks/flood water diversion, and another is for erosion protection and maintenance on a section of waterway along the Hororata River. The remaining eight schemes are primarily land drainage.

Figure 1 Land Drainage ​​Schemes​

​​​Governa​​nce and rating review

Council held a workshop with the Land Drainage Committee chairs on 5th November 2020, to discuss the future governance, rating structure and management/operation of the land drainage schemes. 

There is a growing focus on the environmental performance of Selwyn’s land drainage network, which is likely to require increased monitoring and reporting, as well as upgrades. It will be more challenging to gain and renew resource consents, and complying with these consents will be more demanding. Health and safety will continue to be a major focus. Local ru¯ nanga are likely to continue taking a significant interest in the operation of the land drainage network, and will be increasingly involved in decision-making.

To help us prepare for these changes, we are proposing to transition to a district-wide land drainage committee, within the first year of the Long-Term Plan 2021–2031. This new governance structure will be accompanied in the future by a districtwide rating scheme, similar to the approach used for water races. One of the first responsibilities of the district-wide land drainage committee will be to develop the new rating structure, for consultation during or prior to the 2022/23 Annual Plan.​​​

The pre-LTP survey identified that people value biodiversity more than land drainage (Figure 2). In practice, the land drainage network provides many biodiversity values.

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Figure 2 Results from the 2020 pre-LTP survey

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