November 14, 2007

Environment Canterbury Navigation Safety Bylaws 2005 - some changes

Environment Canterbury councillors have agreed to amend some navigation safety bylaws, following public consultation from mid this year. "These will take effect for this summer from December 1, 2007," said the new chair of the navigation safety portfolio committee Cr Bronwen Murray.

"The aim is to take into account safety and also administrative costs, for example, of maintaining an accurate swing mooring register. Many people living in Canterbury enjoy our inland waterways and coastal waters over the summer break, and now is a good time to check that boats are properly equipped and ensure that people are aware of their responsibilities."

The amendments include:
 changed provisions for swing moorings, including an annual fee of $100 plus gst, and additional powers for the Regional Harbourmaster. The mooring fee will help cover costs of administering the registration system, vetting mooring details, supervision, some inspection and dealing with disputes. The mooring fee system had been used in the past but not in recent years as alternatives were explored. There are around 700 authorised swing moorings in Canterbury region;
- the use of small, battery-powered motors (these are extremely quiet) where powered craft are otherwise prohibited, but not on Lake Alexandrina or the Ashburton Lakes;
- an additional hour for water skiing on Lake Middleton, Mid Canterbury, until 7 pm to allow for daylight saving;
- allowing vessels to travel at over five knots on Northbrook waters in Rangiora;

The navigation safety bylaws apply to all inland lakes and rivers where people operate boats, dinghies or jet-skis, and a number of coastal areas. The region runs from north of Kaikoura to the Waitaki catchment in the south.

ENDS

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