Selwyn

Healthy ecosystems will better withstand climate stress, while forests and wetlands are carbon sinks. Environment Canterbury provides funding so communities can plant trees and take action to restore waterways, habitats and wetlands.

The Selwyn District Council also runs the Selwyn Natural Environment Fund to encourage and assist landowners to identify, protect, restore and enhance areas of natural biodiversity.

Knowing that we may be dealing with more severe weather events that are likely to cause flooding, Selwyn District Council is taking steps now to protect properties and infrastructure in our communities.

Through investigating flooding hazards in coastal and low-lying parts of the district, using computer-based flood modelling to predict the extent and depth of flooding, the Council has been able to map areas likely to be at greater risk of severe flooding.

The stormwater network is also currently being improved to increase the capacity of stormwater catchments and flood defences.

There are a number of projects currently underway to protect more at-risk areas of the district. These include:

Leeston and Hororātā Stormwater Flood Bypass Projects

Leeston and Hororātā are prone to flooding, with surrounding rivers breaching their banks during high rainfall events.

Following flooding events in 2013 and 2018 the Selwyn District Council has been working on projects to divert flood waters around the townships and manage localised flooding within the townships.

In Leeston, a bypass is under construction to redirect the main flow of floodwater away from the town centre for a one in 100-year storm event through a specifically designed channel.

This will restrict water going through the centre of town while still keeping the base water flow through the Leeston Creek, protecting its ecological and biodiversity values.

The bypass is expected to be completed in 2023.

In Hororātā, drainage in the township has been improved and a further drainage channel will be added south of Hororātā this year to divert floodwaters away from the township.

Environment Canterbury has also supported creek and stream clearing projects to remove debris from the Hororātā River, Cordys Stream and Happy Jacks Creek to improve flows and reduce spillover in heavy rain events, while protecting ecological and biodiversity values.

Halswell/Huritini River

Thanks to a climate resilience grant, Environment Canterbury is replacing the weed barrier on the Halswell/Huritini River. Weed is cut and removed from the riverbed to manage ground and surface water levels in the Halswell/Huritini area.

Cut weed must be prevented from entering Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere, a nationally important wetland of huge cultural importance, or it will severely degrade water quality through release of stored nutrients during decomposition.

One way we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions – a key contributor to climate change – is to use public transport.

Environment Canterbury provides public transport services for Greater Christchurch. The region is transitioning to a zero-emissions fleet.

Selwyn District Council’s transport strategies focus on reducing carbon emissions through provision of charging stations for electric vehicles, developing and maintaining cycling and walking tracks to support safe active transport, and encouraging public transport.

The Greater Christchurch partnership is looking at how the city needs to evolve. Greater Christchurch 2050 will describe the kind of place we want for our future generations, and the actions we need to take over the next 30 years to make it happen. This work will culminate in a plan that is achievable for our region.

This includes investigating mass rapid transport options.

Wilding pines are an invasive plant species that can rapidly spread across vast areas of our landscape, shading native plants out and providing fuel for wildfires. They are a problem across the country with more than 800,000 hectares infested nationwide, half of which is on land here in Waitaha/Canterbury.

In Selwyn, Environment Canterbury is actively working with landowners to remove wilding pines from our landscapes.

Selwyn District Council was one of the earliest signatories to the New Zealand Local Government Leaders’ Climate Change Declaration 2017. As a signatory, the Council is committed to developing and implementing plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to engage with tangata whenua, and to support resilience within local communities.

The Council is also working to improve the resource efficiency and health of homes, businesses and infrastructure in the district, and help communities to understand and prepare for the physical impacts of climate change.

The Council adopted its first formal climate change policy in December 2020. The policy set the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, and commits the Council to consider the impact on climate in every decision and consider what steps can be taken to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.

The Selwyn District Council has also:

• Formed an expert group to examine climate change-related opportunities and risks, and to develop an integrated adaptation action plan that will feed into planning processes
• Mapped its own carbon footprint and started to make changes to reduce emissions
• Undertaken a project to install LED lightbulbs in all street lighting, to reduce electricity use, maintenance costs and waste from replaced light bulbs
• Begun upgrading its Resource Recovery Centre to improve recycling, recovery and reuse of materials along with an education space to support training on reducing carbon footprints through better use of waste