30 November 2018

Otago Swimming Targets Finalised by Council

The Otago Regional Council (ORC) finalised the Otago swimming targets in the Policy Committee meeting on 29 November 2018.

The final Otago swimming targets are:
• 85% of rivers and 98% of lakes are swimmable by 2030.
• 90% of rivers and 98% of lakes are swimmable by 2040.
Under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPSFM), swimming targets apply to specified waterways. These are rivers of fourth order or greater (i.e. Rivers that have at least four consecutive streams or rivers flowing into them), and lakes with a perimeter of 1.5km or greater.

The Otago targets contributes to the overall national swimming targets implemented by national government, that 80% of rivers and lakes will be swimmable by 2030, and 90% by 2040.
ORC completed a public consultation to receive feedback on drafted Otago swimming targets from 17 September 2018 to 15 October 2018.

Below shows the proportion of Otago rivers and lakes that were classified as swimmable in 2017, along with the drafted Otago swimming targets for 2030 and 2040 used for the consultation.

A total of 64 people responded to the consultation:
• 55% agreed with the drafted swimming targets.
• 42% disagreed with the drafted swimming targets.
• 3% undecided.
• 31% wanted targets to be achieved before 2030 or 2040.
The feedback was used to help Council finalise the targets.
The final Otago targets are currently up on our website: https://www.orc.govt.nz/managing-our-environment/water/water-quality/draft-regional-swimming-targets-for-otago
For more information on the swimming targets visit the YourSay page: https://yoursay.orc.govt.nz/swimtargets

ENDS

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