 Riparian Maintenance Templates
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The templates
The Riparian Maintenance Templates include four diagrams with a list of detailed instructions for Council staff, consultants and contractors to use. The purpose of the templates is to improve the quality of environment by prescribing appropriate treatment for the establishment and ongoing care of streamside plantings throughout Christchurch.
The templates are for planning and guiding the design, and to assist establishment, ongoing maintenance and management of plantings. The templates correspond with defined time periods in the life of the streamside plantings. The four templates are generally for these time periods as follows:
- Generic guide for riparian maintenance (800KB) for the project manager’s and designer’s reference during the first 12 months following planting, but may be used by the contractor for planting projects that do not have a contractual establishment period.
- In-stream riparian maintenance (800KB) from 12 months on until the 5th year after planting.
- Maturity riparian maintenance (1.2MB) from the 5th year and into the long-term after planting.
- Ongoing riparian maintenance (1.1MB) provides requirements for maintaining adequate drainage conditions and in-stream or aquatic planting for habitat.
How to use the templates
Generic Guide for Riparian Maintenance Template
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Designer checklist |
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1. The Generic Guide is issued to the landscape architect/designer along with the Project Brief prepared by the Greenspace project manager.
2. It is to be used by the project manager to convey specific project information and to assist the designer. It also becomes an Establishment Riparian Maintenance Template for planting projects that do not have a contractual establishment period (known as the defects liability period).
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Use the Generic Guide as a prompt during the design phase.
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3. Objectives such as the priorities for the 6 Values and the Maintenance Standard should be clearly indicated in the Greenspace Project Brief, or are to be agreed upon with the Greenspace maintenance manager and/or Greenspace manager following initial consultation.
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The landscape architect is clear about the objectives (one or several of the 6 Values) as well as the maintenance standard.
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4. The Landscape Architect marks up by hand, the ‘blank’ template once the design has been completed. As outlined in the reference notes on the ‘blank’ template, the L.A. is required to strike out any text not required, specify any details asked for or add any other notes required.
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Mark up the Generic Guide template.
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5. The ‘blank’ template has been set up with typical notes to cover the majority of riparian scenarios and as specified on the template, each project/site is to have it’s own customised template for each of the phases of it’s lifespan.
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Customise the Generic Guide template to the site.
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6. If the typical cross section of the ‘blank’ template does not represent the profile of the project/site, the L.A. must additionally provide a hand drawn sketch that typifies the site, to be scanned in by City Solutions. This cross section need not necessarily be to scale as it will need to fit in the space provided, but must realistically represent the site.
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The Landscape Architect may be required to provide a sketch of the stream profile.
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7. For large projects it may be necessary to show more than one profile to adequately cover all aspects of maintenance required.
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Several sketches of the stream profile may be required.
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On-going Maintenance and In-Stream Template
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Designer checklist |
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8. The marked up template is processed by a City Solutions landscape CAD draughtsperson, to produce the set of maintenance drawings for the project. This set of drawings will be available as paper copies as well as electronic digital copies (PDF) which will be stored in a folder, accessible Council wide. A copy of these maintenance drawings is to be filed in the Greenspace TRIM file system as well as being issued to the designer and contractor.
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Mark all appropriate boxes and provide instructions in the template for on-going maintenance (and in stream where appropriate).
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9. Next, the Greenspace project manager and the landscape architect will meet the main contractor assigned to the project to discuss and assess maintenance issues (including the maturity template).
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Greenspace project manager, landscape architect and contractor meeting.
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10. The next action is either to: (i) Complete the maintenance period as specified in the contract to practical completion, or (ii) Hand over the project (if there is no contractual defects liability period) to the City Council, who will contract City Care to continue maintenance into the maturity stage of the plantings.
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Complete contract (defects liability period) or hand over to City Care.
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11. The project manager and landscape architect will review the maintenance template(s) and provide an opportunity to assess and amend the templates. As a minimum, an annual discussion and/ or site meeting must occur.
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Project manager and landscape architect review.
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12. Maintenance drawings (including templates) are given to the contractor who will be continuing with operational maintenance.
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Contractor begins operational maintenance.
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Maturity Riparian Maintenance Template
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Designer checklist |
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13. This template should be developed during the design phase, but will need to be reviewed during the Ongoing Maintenance phase, to allow for changes in site conditions and community requirements of the site.
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Mark up Maturity Template.
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14. Any changes to the templates need to be updated through the City Solutions CAD system and recorded on the database.
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Ensure changes to the templates are recorded.
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Explanation of terms
Six values
- Ecology - Includes ecological processes and inter-relationships between plants, birds, fish and insects.
- Landscape - The special character of sites, aesthetic quality, and sense of place to people and communities.
- Recreation - Active and passive recreation, play, and facilities associated with recreational activities.
- Heritage - Sites and activities of both human (e.g. structures) and natural (e.g. landforms) significance.
- Culture - The values of Maori and European, as well as wider community aspirations and involvement.
- Drainage - Groundwater and surface water inter-relationships, flows, flooding and stormwater.
Maintenance standard - Refer to documentation for specific notes to achieve the standard required.
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High - Usually a high profile site, highly visible to the public, requiring frequent visits to achieve a high standard of care/ maintenance. |
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Medium - A site that may be less visible to the public, requiring less frequent visits and a moderate level of care/maintenance. |
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Low - A site which may only require infrequent maintenance with a generally low level of intervention. |
Handover - Contractors complete their involvement and hand over to council for ongoing maintenance.
Trial sites
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