The Star: March 16, 2017

The Star 21
News
• By Tom Doudney
MEASURES TO restrict,
suspend or revoke water
take consents in a catchment
which feeds the ailing Selwyn/
Waikirikiri River will be
investigated.
The river has had record low
flows this summer and has dried
up along large stretches, including
at once popular swimming
spots such as Coes Ford.
Environment Canterbury will
look into two possible options to
help address the situation and report
back to the Selwyn Waihora
Zone Committee.
One option is that ECan could
• By Tom Doudney
FALLING groundwater levels
around Selwyn are keeping well
drillers and pump installers
busy as they have to go deeper
for water.
Pump technician Mike Taylor
said in recent weeks he has
had dozens of clients who had
needed to put in a new pump
or have new wells drilled due to
their existing ones drying up.
“Southbridge through to
issue a temporary water shortage
direction allowing it to restrict
or suspend taking water from the
Irwell, Leeston, Weedons and
West Melton seem to be the
main areas affected that I’ve
come across,” he said.
“I had one client over
in West Melton where I
pulled the pump out and
the water level was almost
3m below the pump, so
it has dropped quite dramatically.”
While wells had dried
up in small areas in other years,
it was unusual for such a large
Latest Christchurch news at www.
Selwyn River water consents under investigation
Debra
Hasson
SAD STATE:
The Selwyn
River has
dried up at
Coes Ford
apart from
a couple
of algae
covered
pools.
PHOTO:
RICHARD
COSGROVE ​
catchment feeding the river. Under
the RMA, a water shortage
direction can be applied when
area to be affected, Mr Taylor
said.
“We’re just having to go a wee
bit deeper. If they’ve got a
big enough well than we’re
able to go to a submersible
type pump, otherwise
they’ve had to go to new
wells.”
An Environment Canterbury
spokeswoman
said wells up to 20m deep,
mostly in the Selwyn Waihora
zone, were being affected.
there is “a serious temporary
shortage of water” which could
not have been predicted. It would
expire after 14 days but could be
renewed.
ECan chief operating officer
Don Rule said this could potentially
affect up to 63 consents in
an area south of Rolleston, of
which about 46 were thought
to have a strong connection to
the river. It was not known how
many of these consents were
already on restrictions.
The other option which will be
looked at is a potential ratepayerfunded
review of “at the very
least” several hundred water
take consents in the vicinity of
She said while irrigation
contributed to the situation,
groundwater levels were very
low this summer after three
consecutive winters with little
rainfall to replenish the aquifers.
“Many groundwater takes are
on partial restriction and all
deep groundwater takes have
restrictions on their annual
volumes. This has been the situation
since November 2015.”
District councillor Debra
Hasson recently sought answers
Thursday March 16 2017
the river, but Mr Rule said this
would be a longer process.
Such a review would enable
ECan to look at whether any
consents should be altered or
revoked.
“The focus would be on surface
and shallow ground water takes
initially,” Mr Rule said.
“Based on my experience,
consent reviews would certainly
not affect this irrigation season,
at best they would apply to next
irrigation season and history
would say even that might be
problematic.”
Both options would be open
to challenge in the Environment
Court.
Dry wells lead to new, deeper bores being dug
.kiwi
from ECan after six shallow
wells downstream from Lincoln
University’s Ashley Dene farm
had gone dry within two months
of a new 160m bore on the farm
coming into operation.
ECan team leader for
consents Sam Beaumont said
the university had simply
transferred an already consented
water allocation from one bore,
near the corner of Springs Rd
and Gerald St, to the new Ashley
Dene bore.
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