Wairau River Floodway Reserve Land

Floodway Reserve Land

Council floodway’s are located on the 20,000 hectare Wairau floodplain downstream of the Wairau confluence. The purpose of these floodway’s is to carry flood waters without scouring its stop banks. The floodway consists of the active non vegetated river channel and vegetated berms. The vegetated berms only flow during flood time.

Careful management of the floodway berm land is also required. This care is required as to the degree and type of vegetation required at the location; and the degree of earth works and banking; including not allowing solid fencing. The floodway land is a combination of public and private land.

Much of the floodway land comprises active river channel, or tree plantings for bank erosion protection, or is land occupied by the stopbanks. However there is some 950 hectares of Council owned floodway land for which there are secondary uses available. Currently this land is used as

• Public amenity and recreation areas 115 hectares
• Council owned production/protection forestry 167 hectares
• Commercial lease 641 hectares
• Ecological plantings 26 hectares