Waimakariri River

The exact Māori etymology of the name Waimakariri is not known. The most common translation for the name is "river of cold rushing water", derived from the Māori words wai, meaning water, and makariri, meaning cold.[2] Additionally, both mākā and riri translate individually as vigorous or enraged respectively, making the exact etymological origins of the name difficult to determine. The river was briefly renamed as the Courtenay River in 1849 by the chief surveyor of the Canterbury Association, Joseph Thomas, in honour of Lord Courtenay. However, this name quickly fell into disuse in favour of the traditional Māori name.[3][4] The Waimakariri is colloquially referred to as the 'Waimak', a shortening of the Māori name.[2]

The source of the Waimakariri is located in the Southern Alps, at the head of a valley to the west of Arthur's Pass, where it is primarily fed by snow melt and glacial runoff. The river flows in a southerly direction, before turning east around the base of Mount Stewart. The river at this stage becomes braided, and is joined by the Bealey River as it flows across wide shingle beds.

As the river is joined by the Esk River, the Waimakariri river is forced into a narrow series of gorges and ceases being braided. This continues as the river flows through the foothills of the Southern Alps, and is used by the Midland Line railway as part of its traverse of the Southern Alps. The river exits the foothills at the Waimakariri Gorge, at which point it again expands to a braided system.

Once on the Canterbury Plains, the Waimakariri flows in a roughly east-south-easterly direction towards the Pacific Ocean. As with other braided river systems, the main channels frequently change within the primary riverbed, especially during periods of high flow rates. Geological evidence indicates that this mobility has extended to the river itself in the past, at times flowing through the current location of Christchurch into what is now the Avon Heathcote Estuary, and on a separate occasion flowing into Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, to the south of Banks Peninsula.[5] To protect Christchurch and other settlements near the river, multiple flood protections have been constructed either side of the river since European settlement, dating as early as the Canterbury Rivers Act 1868.[6]

The river currently reaches the Pacific Ocean just to the north of Christchurch, entering Pegasus Bay by way of Brooklands Lagoon. The Waimakariri marks one of only a few breaks in the roughly 50 km (31 mi) length of Pegasus Bay. Along with two other rivers which enter Pegasus Bay (the Ashley River / Rakahuri and Waipara River), the Waimakariri is almost entirely responsible for the sediment which forms the bay and its coastal plain.[7]

As one of the largest rivers on the Canterbury plains, the Waimakariri is an important habitat for wildlife, including many endangered species of both plants and animals. The dry sections of riverbed is home to Black-Fronted Terns, where braids in the river provide a natural barrier to predators.[8] The river and its tributaries are home to multiple native species, including Crayfish / Kōura, New Zealand longfin eel, Short-finned Eel, as well as many other species of lampreys and invertebrates. The river is also one of the few remaining habitats for the critically endangered Canterbury mudfish (kowaro), which previously inhabited wetlands across the Canterbury plains, while a portion of its riverbank is home to one of only two known remaining populations of Olearia adenocarpa.[8]

Introduced fish are also common along the entirety of the Waimakariri River, making the river a popular location for fishing. As with most of New Zealand, this primarily includes brown and rainbow trout, as well as Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha).[9] The Salmon population dates to the early 1900s, when they were introduced from California, and results in large salmon runs near the river mouth in Summer.[10]

View of river at Kowai Bush near Springfield, 1927

In 1923 the river was mainly investigated for a hydroelectric dam to supply electricity to Christchurch. It received support from the community but the dam was never built since the Government offered inexpensive electricity from the Lake Coleridge scheme.[11]

The Central Plains Water Trust is proposing to take 40 cubic metres per second (1,400 cu ft/s) of water from two points on the Waimakariri River as part of the Central Plains Water enhancement scheme.[12]

A water pollution sign on the lower reaches of the river

In 2007 the Waimakariri was ranked as one of the ten most polluted of the larger rivers in New Zealand.[13] Some of the pollution was caused by liquid wastes from industries such as a meat processing plant and wool scourers in the vicinity of the river. The wastes were discharged directly into it but as of 2012 it was piped to the municipal sewage treatment plant. There had been some non-compliance issues with the resource consents for water discharge.[14]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Waimakariri River.

• Waimakariri River Regional Plan at Environment Canterbury
• The Waimakariri River as a water resource. Dalmer, 1971