Stockwater race network

A typical stockwater race

Council has provided stockwater across the Ashburton District for over 120 years.  Some races are even older, but they were originally managed by the large farms of the day.  In 2000 the network was over 4,000 km long.

As of June 2024, the stockwater race network is approximately 1,543 km long, made up of:

  • 421 km of main races
  • 1,122 km of local races
  • The water is sourced from 23 consented intake locations.

Note: Main races carry most of the water from the various intakes. They can often be very deep and wide. Water is then distributed to people's properties through smaller local races.

The Council is responsible for the maintenance of all main races.  The property owner, or the person occupying the property, is responsible for the maintenance of local races.

Intakes

The water for the stockwater race network is mainly sourced from:

  • the Rangitata River
  • the Ashburton River and its contributing streams
  • the Rakaia River
  • springs and drains
  • the Rangitata Diversion Race
  • irrigation schemes, including Acton and Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Company.

The river intakes are large engineered structures.  A channel is constructed that diverts some water to the intake structure, where the flow of water is measured to ensure consent compliance.  From there it enters the stockwater race network which distributes the water across the district.

However, these river intakes are susceptible to damage/washout during flood events and therefore Council does not guarantee stockwater 24/7.

Day-to-day management

The routine management of the stockwater race network is carried out by our water rangers.  The rangers are responsible for:

  • checking and maintaining water flows
  • organising maintenance on the main races
  • ensuring compliance with Council’s water race byl​aw​

I've got no water – what does this mean?

If you have no water to your property, this could be caused by:

  • A possible blocked race, junction or culvert further upstream.
  • The river diversion channel to the intake has been washed out during a flood.  Depending on the river flood levels, we may not be able to get a digger into the river to reform the channels for several days.

If you have a problem with a stockwater race, please first make sure there are no issues with the races on your property.  If you can’t find the location of the issue, you can contact Council 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on (03) 307 7700.

There are a number of factors that impact on the stockwater race network that we cannot control, therefore we do not guarantee a constant or uninterrupted supply of water to any property at any time of the year.

If you need to have stockwater available all the time, we recommend that you have a back-up system and on-property water storage available.