MEDIA ADVISORY
21 February 2012

Christchurch-West Melton Zone Committee Meeting

The Christchurch-West Melton Zone Committee will meet on 23 February for its second monthly meeting of the year.

At the meeting the committee will vote to appoint a chair and deputy chair before discussing priority outcomes for biodiversity including funding as part of the Immediate Steps Programme it administers.

Immediate Steps is a $10 million programme for biodiversity to help protect endangered species and waahi taonga (sacred sites). It also covers maintenance of Canterbury’s braided rivers, providing habitat for native flora and fauna, as well as protecting wetlands and other ecosystems.

A key focus of the meeting will be urban surface waters including addressing the issue of liquefaction in Christchurch waterways following the earthquakes. Most local waterways have been affected to varying degrees by liquefaction, silt deposition and lateral spread and the committee will learn what is being done to manage the problem.

The committee will also receive a presentation on drinking water from Community and Public Health.

Formed in October 2011, the Christchurch-West Melton Zone Committee was the final of ten zone committees to be formed under the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS).

The role of the committee is to make consensus based decisions about water management in the zone. The committee meets each month to learn about the water resource in the zone and engage with community members to get their feedback.

The end goal of the committee is to develop a set of water management recommendations that will be submitted to councils in the form of a Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP).

The zone committee operates as a joint committee of Environment Canterbury, Christchurch City Council and the Selwyn District Council. It features six community members as well as three Rūnunga representatives and three from councils.

Meeting details

Christchurch – West Melton Zone Committee meeting
6pm, 23 February 2012
Linwood Service Centre, 180 Smith Street, Linwood, Christchurch

Agenda: http://ecan.govt.nz/publications/Council/cw-chc-west-melton-comittee-agenda-230211.pdf .

ENDS

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