Christchurch rivers - perception and reality

Environment Canterbury

Students on summer work programmes have been helping regional council Environment Canterbury to compare the actual health of Christchurch’s two main rivers with what people think they are like.
The council – which is responsible for the rivers – is conducting the study in partnership with the University of Canterbury and the Avon-Heathcote Estuary/Ihutai Trust.

Users of the Avon and Heathcoate rivers – people who fish, cycle or walk along the rivers or kayak in them – were asked about the health of the rivers and the results are being matched with scientific evidence.
Two students were hired to conduct interviews with river users, and water quality students took samples at the same spots to get a comparison.

“By raising awareness with understanding of our rivers we can work with others to improve river health, which will naturally have flow-on benefits for the estuary,” says Alex Drysdale, chairperson of the trust.
The project will also provide valuable baseline information for Environment Canterbury’s River Guardians project. 

 “If we know how healthy the users think our rivers are, then hopefully we can identify knowledge gaps between perceptions and science, which is an important part of getting people to work together to make an environmental difference,” says council resource care officer Jenny Bond.
The students researched sites that have walking tracks, that are popular for rowing and canoeing, and where the city council had not gathered any long-term data.

The scientific investigation will measure invertebrates, sediment, E. coli (faecal bacteria, for example from ducks or sewage overflows), clarity and habitat.