Manawatu River eyes up clean-up fund

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Manawatu River eyes up clean-up fund

The Manawatu River will be cleaned faster if its leaders are successful in their bid for the Government’s Freshwater Clean-Up fund.

Joined by Minister for the Environment Dr Nick Smith, members of the Manawatu River Leaders’ Forum, made up of industry, farming, environmental, iwi and local government representatives, today formally agreed on their action plan to clean up the Manawatu River. They indicated that they will be applying to the Governments’ newly established fund to help improve water quality in New Zealand.

Horizons’ Regional Council chairman Bruce Gordon believes the Manawatu River is a strong contender for the Clean Up Fund and hopes the government will recognise the progress that’s already been made by the group to come together to find a solution for the river.

“The fund is targeted towards projects that are beyond the means of the local community. Communities are expected to also contribute to the clean-up and our Action Plan demonstrates we are doing just that,” said Mr Gordon.

Another prerequisite for the Government’s money is for councils to have rules in place to better manage pollution.

“As a signatory to the Accord and the organisation with overall responsibility for the river’s management, I’m pleased to say we already have such rules in place, and our regulations are closely aligned to the recently released National Policy Statement on water,’’ said Mr Gordon.

“The Ministry for the Environment has assessed all regional councils’ policies on water management and Horizons scored 13 points out of a possible 18, the next closest council scoring 9. That tells me we are well on track in our approach to water management.”

“What the Accord and its action plan bring to the table complements and strengthen the regulation through a collaborative and unified approach.”

The plan has been developed by forum members following the signing of an Accord to clean-up the river in August 2010 and identifies some key areas that need to be addressed for the river to improve.

Sediment; nutrients and bacteria from point source discharges; nutrients and pathogens from agricultural run-off; and the protection of native fish and birds; are the river’s main problems.

The six key priorities are backed up by over 130 specific actions to be taken. Progress will be regularly reviewed and the plan added to over time.

The Manawatu River Leaders Forum Action Plan can be viewed online www.horizons.govt.nz or at the Horizons Regional Council offices.

ENDS