Chairperson

Deputy Chairperson (Acting Chair)

Members

Annabelle Hasselman - Community Representative

Mike Patchett - Community Representative

Helen Rutter - Community Representative

Shona Sluys - Community Representative

Brynlea Stocks - Community Representative

Councillor Phil Clearwater - Councillor Environment Canterbury

Councillor Sophie McInnes - Selwyn District Council

Arapata Reuben – Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga

Oscar Bloom - Youth Representative

Zone Facilitator

Shelley Washington

Tel: 027 294 5219

Environment Canterbury

Principal Advisor

Diane Shelander

Senior Policy Analyst

Tel: 941 8304

Christchurch City Council

Committee Advisor

Luke Smeele

Tel: 941 6374

Christchurch City Council

Committee Recommendation

That the apology for absence received from Emma Norrish be accepted.

Mike Patchett/Sophie McInnes                                                                                                                            Carried

Committee Recommendation

That the minutes of the Christchurch West Melton Water Management Zone Committee meeting held on Thursday, 28 July 2022 be confirmed.

Phil Clearwater/Brynlea Stocks                                                                                                                           Carried

9.   Erosion and Sediment Control

Jessica Newlands, Senior Resource Management Officer (ECan) and Clive Appleton, Healthy Waterways Programme Lead (CCC) gave a presentation on the Emily Heights Subdivision (see Minutes attachment for power point presentation).

Clive began the presentation by outlining Christchurch City Council’s Comprehensive Stormwater Network Discharge Consent (CSNDC).

The presentation included information on:

·         Stormwater approval process – Written consent to discharge is given provided that the CCC is confident that the risks from the discharge are adequately mitigated.

·         Condition 41 and the Sediment Discharge Management Plan (SDMP) – development sites should have prepared and implemented Erosion and Sediment Control Plans which meet best practices.

Jess began by speaking on the Emily Heights Subdivision case outlining the timeline of events related to the site’s development.

The presentation included information on:

·         Issues which the site has had encountered related to sediment control.

·         Erosion and sediment control in the future – including a survey into erosion and sediment control compliance across a sample of development sites.

·         Proactive monitoring during rainfall events.

·         Further training for CCC staff in erosion and sediment control.

·         ECan and Community to progress with “Rainy Day Inventory” project.

Staff suggested that sediment control is an issue nationally however Christchurch has a variety of factors which make sediment control and management a unique problem – loess soils on Port Hills in urban environment.

Staff noted checking sediment controls on development sites after a storm indicates that controls are not correctly installed.

Staff indicated that it was that their opinion that erosion and sediment control tools are effective provided that they are used in the right scenario and installed correctly.

The presentation ended with a request that the Committee consider raising this topic with central government. The purpose would be, to discuss the environmental problems associated with erosion and sediment control of developments on highly erodible hillsides. Also to emphasise these need tighter requirements or restrictions or not allowed on highly erodible slopes over a certain angle. It was commented that Nelson has also got loess soils and even long established subdivisions have had hillside erosion due to large rainfall, which is an expected consequence of climate change.

Committee Member Mike Patchett presented a motion for the Committee to consider.

Background:

That the Committee acknowledges the serious water pollution of the Avon Heathcote-Estuary-Ihutai and repeated complaints from the local community over the past couple of years about sediment laden water from the Emily Heights urban development site going down the street and into the Estuary.

In light of the report from staff a further motion was suggested by Committee Member Helen Rutter for the Committee to consider.

Members had the following questions/comments:

Members inquired whether sediment control issues have been raised before on a national level?

Members inquired whether there were adequate tools to control and manage sediment discharge?

Members commented that it was the role of the Committee to stress the significance and importance of the issue.

Members indicated that it would be productive to advocate for a holistic approach be taken between ECan and CCC.

The committee thanked staff for their report.

Committee Resolved CWZC/2022/00011

That the Christchurch West Melton Water Management Zone Committee:

Recommends to Christchurch City Council and Environment Canterbury:

1.       That an independent audit of the environmental effectiveness of the regulatory instruments, arrangements and capacity building applying to erosion and sediment control and contaminated stormwater management, be conducted.

2.       That this audit used to improve the regulatory frameworks, instruments and environmental outcomes for waterways within our Zone.

Mike Patchett/Phil Clearwater                                                                                                                             Carried

Committee Member Oscar Bloom and Helen Rutter dissented.

Committee Resolved CWZC/2022/00012

That the Christchurch West Melton Water Management Zone Committee:

1.         Receives the report from Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City Council on erosion and sediment control.

Helen Rutter/Oscar Bloom                                                                                                                                    Carried

Committee Resolved CWZC/2022/00013

That the Christchurch West Melton Water Management Zone Committee:

Recommends that Christchurch City Council and Environment Canterbury:

1.       Advocate to central government, the environmental problems associated with erosion and sediment control from developments on highly erodible hillsides and requests that these be subject to tighter requirements or restrictions.

Helen Rutter/Oscar Bloom                                                                                                                                    Carried

Attachments

a       Christchurch West Melton Zone Committee - 25 August 2022 - Environment Canterbury Emily Heights PP (004) ⇨

b      Christchurch West Melton Zone Committee - 25 August 2022 - Emily Heights ECan and CCC Memorandum ⇨  

10. Ōtukaikino Stormwater Management Plan Briefing

Paul Dickson, Drainage Engineer (CCC) gave a presentation to the Committee on the draft Ōtukaikino Stormwater Management Plan (see Minutes attachment for power point presentation).

The presentation included information on:

·         Content in the Stormwater Management Plan (SMP) –

·         Contaminants

·         Flooding

·         Proposed mitigation

·         An outline of where the SMP sits in the framework of water management –

·         Rural catchment

·         Urban catchment

·         Long term expectations for the SMP

Staff responding to questions stated that CCC requires that a catchment be qualified as either high risk or high value and the catchment is currently qualified as high value rather than high risk.

Members had the following comments/questions:

Members inquired whether there was a case to qualify the catchment as “high risk”?

Members commented that street sweeping can have a significant impact on water health as it has a number of flow-on effects including reducing the number of plastics and litter that end up in urban water ways.

Committee Resolved CWZC/2022/00014

That the Christchurch West Melton Water Management Zone Committee:

1.         Receives the report from Christchurch City Council on the development of the Ōtūkaikino Stormwater Management Plan

Sophie McInnes/Helen Rutter                                                                                                                              Carried

Attachments

a       Christchurch West Melton Zone Committee - 25 August 2002 - Ōtukaikino Stormwater Management Plan Briefing ⇨  

11. Proposed Addington Brook Restoration

Zone Committee Member Mike Patchett presented to the Committee on the Addington Brook Restoration Plan (see Minutes attachment for power point presentation).

The presentation included:

·         Conceptualisation of the system and plan.

·         Detailed images of the area and adjoining systems.

·         Detailed breakdown of the existing vegetation in the area and marked opportunities to make additions to the tree canopy to enhance diversity and improve habitat health.

Committee Resolved CWZC/2022/00015

That the Christchurch West Melton Water Management Zone Committee:

1.         Receives the report from Mike Patchett.

2.         Strongly supports the proposed master plan for enhancing the water quality and ecosystem of Addington Brook as it flows through Hagley Park. Informs the Christchurch City Council of the opportunity to utilise the outcomes of the project to build community awareness and education about healthy waterways.

3.         Provides a letter of support to Christchurch City Council for this proposal.

Brynlea Stocks/Helen Rutter                                                                                                                                Carried

Attachments

a       Christchurch West Melton Zone Committee - 25 August 2022 - Addington Brook Masterplan Overview with Sections DRAFT ⇨  

12. Recommendation of allocations of CWMS Action Plan Budget in Christchurch West Melton Zone

The draft CWMS Action Plan budget was introduced to the Committee for further discussion.

Committee Member Annabelle Hasselman declared a conflict of interest in relation to the project Arapata Reuben suggested and Mike Patchett declared a conflict of interest in relation to item (b) Ōtukaikino and did not vote on the Motion.

The Committee elected Oscar Bloom to Chair for the Action Plan Budget item, moved by Helen Rutter and seconded by Phil Clearwater.

Members had the following comments/questions:

Committee Member Arapata Reuben introduced a project which could be a worthy candidate to receive funding from the budget. A brief outline of the project was given to the committee including details of the desired funding allocation of $10,000.

Members noted that there would only be $5,000 left after the proposed allocations and inquired as to whether the project would be ongoing and what the negative consequences of receiving additional funding at a later date would be?

It was noted in response that the project would be potentially on going for a five year period.

Committee members also commented that the draft funding allocations presented were done so after a workshop about the budget and documents circulated before that. Given the process followed by other candidates it was best to progress with the funding allocations in the current form. Arapata will prepare some written information about the project for the Committee to consider at their next meeting for allocations of remaining $5,000 of budget. It can also be considered in future financial years for further budget allocations.

Committee Resolved CWZC/2022/00016

That the Christchurch West Melton Water Management Zone Committee:

1.         Recommends that Environment Canterbury approves the expenditure for the following projects to the following organisations:

a.         $10,000 to the Avon Ōtākaro Network to assist in the Avon in River Clean (litter collection in river).

b.         $10,000 to the Water and Wildlife Habitat Trust for willow and woody weed clearing in the Ōtukaikino.

c.         $8,000 to the Avon Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust as a contribution towards coordinator costs

d.         $5,000 to the Pūharakekenui Styx Living Laboratory Trust as a contribution towards an Education Officer position

e.         $5,000 to the Summit Road Society as a contribution towards Avoca Valley Stream Restoration project

f.          $5,000 to the Christchurch Envirohub Trust for them to provide staffing and coordination to assist Zone Committee(s) to use the Stormwater Superhero trailer at events/engagement opportunities. 

g.         $2,000 to Treaty Education for Te Tiriti training for senior high school students and community group members

2.         That the Committee recommends allocation of the remaining $5,000 of budget at either November 2022 or February 2023 meetings.

Brynlea Stocks/Helen Rutter                                                                                                                                Carried

Committee Member Arapata Reuben abstained from voting on Item d. Styx in the Budget due to a conflict of interest.

13. Facilitator's Update - August 2022

Zone Committee members encouraged to identify community groups they wish to give stormwater superhero presentations to.

Committee Resolved CWZC/2022/00017

That the Christchurch West Melton Water Management Zone Committee:

1.         Receive the Zone Facilitator’s report to August 2022.

Oscar Bloom/Sophie McInnes                                                                                                                              Carried