A 4.5% rise in Environment Canterbury's rates take is proposed for the next financial year, with most of the extra going into improving the region's water and air quality.
The draft Long Term Plan, which will go out for public submissions before final decisions are made in June, is aimed at balancing additional work to improve water and air quality that people keep saying needs doing, with pressure to hold spending.
''That has resulted in a long, hard look at our priorities,'' commissioner David Bedford said.
Extra work proposed involved improving water management, cleaning up the air over worst-affected towns and cities and boosting the use of public transport.
Savings of about $3 million are being made in pest management, biodiversity, the Canterbury Water Management Strategy facilitation and in resource consents.