Masters Thesis Abstract: John Paterson
Urban water course management approaches and methods of community interaction in Christchurch, New Zealand
Initially a wetland but drained by colonial powers, the Christchurch City urban catchment area feeds almost entirely into the Avon and Heathcote Rivers which discharge into the Avon-Heathcote Estuary/Ihutai. Urbanisation has changed the landscape of this environment, dramatically altering the surfaces buffering water courses and decreasing public access to them.
Management of water course environments in urban areas aims toward rehabilitation through reducing targeted pollutants and increasing riparian vegetation. In Christchurch, structural-based approaches to urban water course management have been more often implemented than non-structural approaches. Non-structural approaches involve a greater understanding and awareness of anthropogenic interaction with particular water courses and seek to promote more effective management through community engagement.
In addition to serving a natural process of water transportation the urban water course is utilised to remove excess water from the urban area in times of precipitation and also human-induced water source inlets such as air conditioning outlets. This process has been influenced by an increase in impermeable surfaces used in the urban environment. Negative ecological side effects including vegetation removal and loss of species have been influenced by industrial and household contamination combined with road surface run-off from automotive sources.
The urban water course has a socially constructed identity which is attributed by the individuals who make up the local population. For Maori this includes the physical manifestation of the natural gods as the environment, tapu, and kaitiakitanga. For the European colonials who settled and modified the environment this involves the replication of European locations and ideas of “normality”. These identities have transformed into current day identities of heritage and culture which in turn physically manifest in the construction of the water course environment.
The local community and wider public are identified as participants involved in minimising contamination to water courses. However, public awareness of urban water courses and understanding of stormwater processes is low. Several community initiatives combined with local governance bodies have direct influence over the urban water course management approaches in Christchurch. The water network in Christchurch exists as a socially constructed representation of particular historical views and perspectives of environment. What is their purpose for the future, and who will shape that purpose?