Hurunui

The Hurunui District Council is establishing a sustainability strategy to lower its own carbon footprint. The most recent development has been the installation of solar panels on the Council building in Amberley. This strategy will also help individual staff members reduce their carbon footprint, through actions such as using reusable coffee cups and using active transport or carpooling to get to work.

To encourage wider sustainable practices, the Council is also supporting waste reduction and active transport in the community. Hurunui District Council and Hurunui Trails Trust are establishing safe cycling routes throughout the district to encourage bike riding, while clean recycling is supported through the Council's kerbside collection service.

Currently less than 1 per cent of the district’s recycling is contaminated, due in part to the use of clear plastic bags rather than solid wheelie bins as well as the community's cleaning efforts.

With more droughts anticipated in North Canterbury, having a reliable source of drinking water is essential to everybody. Additional ground water sources that are less influenced by seasonal or climate change patterns are currently being sought. An additional high-producing bore has been drilled for the Hawarden-Waikari water supply, which will significantly improve the resilience of this network.

While climate change projections show that overall it will be drier in North Canterbury with winter rainfall projected to decrease by up to 10 per cent, the frequency and severity of storms is expected to increase, meaning there is an increased risk of soil erosion during these events.

Environment Canterbury's Soil Conservation and Revegetation programme helps landowners conserve soil in erosion-prone areas through planting, mapping and planning.

In 2019-20, over 2,000 poplars were provided, of which around 100 hectares of native bush was protected in and around Mt Guardian in the Hurunui district.

Over the next couple of years, it's anticipated the programme will see:

• planting just under 3,000 poplars, which provide many benefits to a farm including soil conservation, shelter, shade, fodder, agroforestry and timber;
• protecting around 100 hectares of native bush on erosion-prone land;
• completing about 25 Land Use Capability maps free to landowners;
• engaging with 40 new landowners; and
• planting 6,500 new poplar and willow stools in the nursery.

While climate change projections show that overall it will be drier in North Canterbury with winter rainfall projected to decrease by up to 10 per cent, the frequency and severity of storms is expected to increase, meaning flooding is a key impact the district needs to prepare for.

Thanks to a climate resilience grant, Environment Canterbury will be upgrading flood protection for Waiau, which is vulnerable to floods from the Waiau Uwha and Mason rivers. These floods are projected to become larger and more frequent with climate change.

As some Hurunui coastal settlements also have a history of flooding issues, the Hurunui District Council is working with local communities to develop long-term plans for coastal development that suit the individual desires of each settlement.

The stormwater network capacity is also under review to ensure communities are better protected from large rainfall events.