Peter Casserly highlighted the state of the rivers in a letter to the editor of North Canterbury News, saying there are a lot of concerns about the health of the rivers in the community and among whitebaiters and anglers.
He has organised a meeting at the Kaiapoi Library at 7pm on Tuesday, September 17, to try and get some answers on the state of the rivers.
He plans to chair the meeting, which he says will be run in a respectful way with everyone given a chance to have their say.
Casserly is hoping representatives from the Waimakariri District Council, Environment Canterbury Waimakariri Water Zone Committee, and the Kaiapoi-Tuahiwi Community Board will attend to provide answers to the questions people have.
In his letter to the editor, Casserly asked: "What has happened to our beautiful rivers around here?"
He said: "They have turned into a disgusting mess, no weed or watercress, and the freshwater mussels and rockabillies are dying."
Casserly says he can no longer take his grandchildren fly fishing because "there is no mayfly, hatches or invertebrates for the fish to feed on".
However, this year water samples have shown "by far the most saline incursion" since testing began in 2016.
This was because the river is transitioning into a "more brackish estuarine type environment" and will continue to do so.
Salt levels have been exacerbated this year by a relatively dry autumn and winter with subsequent low water flows in the Waimakariri River, preventing the regular water flushes through the Kaiapoi River necessary to lower salinity levels.
Rising sea levels are also contributing to the problem.
"The issue of the changing water quality and ecology of the Kaiapoi River has been recognised at least since evaluation of the effects of the earthquake in 2011," Edge says.
"We have to remember, too, that the straightening of the Waimakariri River and removal of the north branch, together with realignments resulting from the construction of the motorway, have all reduced the freshwater inputs and natural flows of this lowland river system.
"Personally, given the continued concerns expressed by the community, I think that the Kaiapoi River Joint Working Party needs to be re-established," he says.
"This will help daylight any project actions and result in better, more frequent reporting."
Edge believes a comprehensive action plan is required for the river to allow an adaptive transition to an estuarine ecology. This could mean introducing indigenous vegetation that can survive and mature and be managed to create a new landscape typology "that we can be proud of".
"This would build on trial plantings at the river's edge undertaken a few years ago."
By Shelley Topp
