Here’s to 2022 – a happy New Year to everyone; may it be better than 2021 – that’s a low bar to get over.
A new year presents us with a good excuse to look ahead to possible events and decisions that will change the course of our lives, hopefully for the better. If so for humans, why not for a river? What can the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River hope for as a result of events in 2022? Let us look at what may have happened to the river by the end of 2022.
Cashmere Stream restoration underway By the end of 2022 Stage 1 of the four-stage restoration and reinstatement of the Cashmere Stream, a significant headwater tributary of the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River, will have been completed. This is an initiative of the Cashmere Stream Care Group and CCC with Ministry of the Environment funding. Stage 1 involves significant replanting along the banks of the river from Sutherlands Road to Bowis Drain (Stream) with some recontouring of the banks and the installation of paths through this area. This is the beginning of the restoration of the whole of the Cashmere Stream over three years.
Cashmere Valley Dam underway By the end of 2022, the creation of the low earth dam across the Cashmere Valley will be underway but far from complete; let us pray that the earthworks season from October onwards is relatively dry with no major storms so that the project can be well-advanced before the winter of 2023. This dam will, once complete, reduce the amount of sediment entering the Cashmere Valley Drain, and thence the Cashmere Stream and thence the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River.
New CCC Water Bylaws in place By the end of 2022, the 2022 Stormwater and Land Drainage Bylaw and the 2022 Water Supply and Wastewater Bylaw will have been approved. There is hope that the new and reinforced powers that these bylaws provide will mean that the CCC will be beginning to reduce wastewater overflows and the amount of pollutants entering waterways; it will be just the beginning of the process, however. There is so much catch-up, inspection, monitoring and enforcement yet to come, much of which will need to wait until 2023 for increased human resources.
CCC & ECan Annual Plans The annual consultation on these will have produced some wins for the river, we hope, including increased funding for riparian planting and ecological restoration. The three new Urban Park Rangers will have completed their first year of operation: it will be interesting to see how much effect these will have on the number of community groups supported and set up.
Three Waters Reform Programme Is it too much to hope that any final decisions will have been made by the end of 2022? There is a possibility that a new Act will have been passed by year’s end, but any implementation will still be waiting for future years. There is even a good likelihood that the argument will still be churning by the time 2022 finishes. We will not be counting on this reform for any improvements for the river in 2022.
Te Mana o Te Wai Almost certainly, Environment Canterbury will be better placed by the end of 2022 to be able to show how it will be giving effect in Canterbury to the implications of Te Mana o Te Wai in decision making about Resource Consents. There will be some major ramifications of this which, we hope, will turn the impact of whatever is planned in the region towards the river’s benefit rather than its degradation.
Freshwater in Farm Plans During 2022, the Government is meant to be introducing mandatory and enforceable freshwater modules of farm plans. They will be an important part of its Essential Freshwater policy package. There will few implications for the river from these plans this year, but early adopters on the Canterbury plains will likely cause lower nitrate leaching and thus, at some stage, there may be decreasing nitrates entering the river catchment in future years; just don’t hold your breath.
Lower Ōpāwaho Heathcote River Guidance Plan This plan, brought together by a working group from the community and the City Council, has been championed by the Waikura Linwood-Central-Heathcote Community Board. It is hoped that the CCC will adopt it before the Local Government elections in October 2022. The plan will then be able to influence future decision-making about funding and projects along the river from the Opawa Bridge to the Ferrymead Bridge.
Community Groups along the River 2022 will witness continuing and likely increasing levels of activity by community groups working in the river catchment and along its length. This will mean increased riparian planting and possibly reduced sedimentation in addition to increasing community understanding of the issues that the river faces in recovering from 150 years of exploitation.
Community support for the river By the end of 2022, the Canterbury Waterways Partnership will have had some adequate time to make a positive impact on community support for the river. Certainly, there will have been more messaging about how residents can help improve the quality and amenity of the river: less litter, fewer pollutants, less dog poo, more riparian planting – these could all be good outcomes from a further year of activity by the community.
Ōpāwaho Heathcote River Network In 2022, expect our voice to be even louder and more frequently heard as we advocate for the river itself in as many influential forums as possible. We will be there supporting community groups, making submissions to the CCC and ECan, and putting the important messages about the river in front of the community in general. Our 2021 – 2031 Strategic Plan is underway and we are keen to make the 2022 Action Plan that supports it one that makes a difference.
You can join us to amplify our voice if you wish by joining the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River Network: membership is free! Whatever actually eventuates in 2022, we will have been there for the river. Here’s to 2022.