MEDIA ADVISORY
19 November, 2012

Canterbury Water Regional Committee meeting

The Canterbury Water Regional Committee will meet in Wigram for its monthly public meeting on Tuesday, 20 November.

The committee will begin the meeting by receiving a briefing on the Ruataniwha water storage project in Hawke’s Bay. The committee is hearing about the project to help inform potential regional infrastructure development in the context of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS).

The CWMS identifies infrastructure as a means to contribute to all the strategy’s targets. In particular, infrastructure can address future-proofing issues such as ecosystem support in a changing climate and water quality management through enhanced reliability and distribution efficiency.

The committee will also receive an update from the Land Use and Water Quality and the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health working groups.

The Regional Committee has four working groups, which focus on the four priority areas identified in its Regional Implementation Programme (RIP). The priority areas identify what needs to be achieved to meet the targets in CWMS across the region.

The four priority areas are:
• Kaitiakitanga
• Ecosystem health and biodiversity
• Land use and water quality
• Regional infrastructure.

The RIP was developed following an engagement process including public and stakeholder meetings, and feedback from people and organisations with an interest in water management.

Environment Canterbury received and endorsed the RIP at its council meeting in May 2012. The Regional Committee will receive a progress report on its RIP to help inform the development of a 2nd generation version.

At Tuesday’s meeting the committee will also be updated on the progress of the Waimakariri River Joint Working Group. A collaborative working process between the four zone committees concerned with the Waimakariri catchment is being undertaken.

Following this, the committee will receive an update from the Selwyn-Waihora Zone Committee. The Selwyn-Waihora Zone Implementation Programme was finalised in December 2011 and the zone committee is currently involved in the development of both regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to the implementation of the CWMS in the Selwyn-Waihora Zone. This includes a sub-regional chapter of the Proposed Land and Water Regional Plan, and an addendum to the Selwyn-Waihora ZIP.

At the meeting the Kaikoura Zone Committee will also report back to the Regional Committee following the completion of its ZIP and highlight any points in the ZIP that require consideration at a regional level.

The Regional Committee will finish the meeting by receiving updates from each of the ten zone committees.

Meeting details

Regional Committee Meeting
3pm, Tuesday 20 November, 2012
Wigram Manor, 14 Henry Wigram Drive, Wigram

For a copy of the agenda:
http://ecan.govt.nz/publications/Council/rwc-201112.pdf .

ENDS

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