Chapter 12 - Rural Environments 12.0 Rural Environments 12.1 Introduction The majority of the Wairau/ Awatere Plan area comprises moderately steep to very steep hill country and mountain land bisected by major river systems. Less than 5% of the land area could be described as low lying or flat. The Wairau River originates in the alpine climate of the Spenser Mountains at the northern end of the Southern Alps and is fed by numerous tributaries until it meets the sea on the East Coast. The Awatere River originates in the vicinity of the Rachel Range which acts as a watershed between the Acheron and Awatere Rivers. In their course, these rivers and their tributaries flow through glacial landscapes, indigenous and exotic forests, tussock grasslands, exotic grasslands and eventually travel through the highly modified landscapes of the Wairau Plain and lower Awatere catchment. The lower Wairau Valley around Blenheim is, with its flat land and alluvial soils the most intensively farmed area within the Wairau/ Awatere Plan area. For the purposes of looking at the sustainable management issues of the Wairau/ Awatere rural environment it is convenient to view it in terms of the following management areas: • The lower Wairau Plain; • The Rural Uplands; • The balance area of rural land in general including the lower Awatere; • Rural lifestyle localities; • The skifield in the Rainbow forest, St Arnaud range; and • Salt Works Zone. 12.2 Wairau Plain 12.2.1 Issue Recognising and providing for the dynamic inter-relationships between land, water and people. The Wairau Plain with its flat land, rich alluvial soils, relatively abundant water resources and population base is the most intensively farmed and developed area in the Wairau/ Awatere Plan area. The lower Wairau Plain is also a very highly modified rural environment being the subject of extensive and costly flood management works and a complex managed drainage system which benefits some 10,000 hectares of productive land. For the purposes of this Plan the Wairau Plain are represented by a Rural 3 Zoning. This zoning is intended to differentiate the Wairau Plain land resource from other rural land because of its particular characteristics which make it a valuable and versatile land resource. The versatility of this resource arises from a range of factors which include soil qualities, climate, drainage capacities, the availability of a significant groundwater resource, flat topography and location in relation to an urban centre with its associated infrastructure. 12 - 1