1 June 2012

Upper Waitaki water management recommendations endorsed

The Upper Waitaki Zone Implementation Programme for water management was formally received by Environment Canterbury Commissioners at its council meeting on 31 May.

“The Upper Waitaki ZIP represents the consensus reached by committee members on the local actions needed to improve water management in the zone,” said Environment Canterbury Commissioner and Upper Waitaki Zone Committee member Peter Skelton.

“The recommendations in this Zone Implementation Programme give effect to the vision and principles of the collaborative Canterbury Water Management Strategy in the Upper Waitaki area.”

"The underlying philosophy of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy is that local communities are best placed to make decisions on local water management.

“As a committee we have worked collaboratively with stakeholders and community members to develop recommendations for water management that are acceptable to a wide range of interests,” he said.

The Upper Waitaki programme for water management is the seventh of ten to be formally received by Environment Canterbury. The Waimate, Waitaki and Mackenzie District Councils endorsed the ZIP earlier in May.

Since its establishment in February 2011, the zone committee has held 12 formal meetings, six workshops, and gone on four field trips to get a practical sense of water management requirements in the zone.

The committee released its draft ZIP in February 2012 and held community and stakeholder meetings to gather feedback from across the zone.

The committee received 28 written responses on its ZIP, and in general, the feedback was both constructive and supportive.

Barry Shepherd, Upper Waitaki Zone Committee Chair, said how water is used is crucial to the future of the region.

“The completion of the zone’s first programme for water management is vital to ensuring the region’s water is managed effectively.

“It is important we get water management right as the decisions we make now will affect our quality of life and prosperity both now and for future generations.

“As a committee we have a wide diversity of experience and this means when we came to putting detail on paper all reasonable endeavour was made to capture a diverse range of opinions in the ZIP.

“The feedback we got from the community meetings was important as it represented a wide range of interests ensuring a diverse range of feedback has been reflected in the final version of the ZIP,” said Barry Shepherd.

Of the 54 recommendations made in the ZIP, Environment Canterbury is leading or involved in 42 of them. Almost half of the recommendations relate to active work on the ground, from improving energy efficiency, to restoration programmes for wahi taonga, to improved drinking water and sewage schemes.

“The ZIP has taken a ‘whole of waterways’ approach to integrate water management from the mountains to the sea (Ki Uta Ki Tai).

“This includes the Maori principle of Kaitiakitanga which is reflected in the recommendations to improve water quality and quantity, as well as provide more customary use, and involve runanga in water management.

“Within the ZIP there are five priority topics, which form part of our integrated approach to water management,” he said.

The key focus areas of the ZIP are; water nutrient and effluent management; Waitaki Catchment Water Allocation Regional Plan; braided rivers; biodiversity; and prosperity.

The ZIP also sets out some specific priority outcomes for the zone including protecting and enhancing water quality to support diversity of aquatic life, recreational values, and irrigation reliability.

Other focus areas in the ZIP relate to investigations and monitoring, water allocation, and ensuring prosperous and vibrant communities through ensuring a reliable stock water supply, and developing an economic growth strategy.

A final version of the Upper Waitaki ZIP is available at www.ecan.govt/canterburywater.

ENDS

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