A draft strategy to restore the mauri of Waitarakao Washdyke Lagoon catchment for everyone includes actions to improve water quality and flood protection, as well as an ambitious long-term approach to create pockets of new wildlife habitat.

Our Waitarakao: Waitarakao Washdyke Lagoon Catchment Strategy is a collaborative approach to deal with problems faced now in this unique coastal catchment, as well as planning ahead for a time when erosion may reduce the lagoon to a much smaller size.

The draft strategy, which is available for public feedback until 15 July 2024, is the result of a partnership between the Department of Conservation, Environment Canterbury, Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua, and Timaru District Council, as well as input from the local community.

You can visit the Our Waitarakao website to fill in an online survey or find out about events in Timaru. 

An ambitious approach

Spokesperson for the Strategy Steering Group, Timaru District Council Group Manager – Environmental Services, Paul Cooper says the strategy has been designed to be ambitious as well as practical to implement, focusing on many actions and improvements that lead to generational change.

“As a group of four partners, we’ve aimed high to meet the community’s expectations for what we can achieve for this special catchment. The outcomes proposed will extend the life of the lagoon and the coastal flood protection, but also plan longer-term for places for our precious wildlife and plants to live in the wider catchment, through encouraging and supporting voluntary habitat development, particularly along marginal land beside waterways.

“It’s a pragmatic strategy that accepts that the health of the area has declined, and coastal erosion is a consistent issue, but has clear first steps and ongoing actions to make positive change and move the catchment into a much better state for our future generations.

“We’re excited to share the draft strategy and would love to hear feedback from the community, so we can then get on with the implementation phase for the lagoon and catchment.”