MEDIA RELEASE

November 21, 2013

ORC welcomes Government recognition of water quality efforts

ORC chairman Stephen Woodhead has welcomed a Government statement recognising the progress the council has made thus far into trying to bring about improved water quality in the Otago region.

Otago and Southland are among several regions highlighted in a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright, as raising concern about the effects of large-scale changes in land use on water quality.

The Minister for the Environment, Amy Adams, and the Minister for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy, said Otago, Canterbury, and Southland were already “well down the track of introducing freshwater objectives and limits to improve water quality.”

This requirement was introduced in 2011 in the National Policy Statement for freshwater management.

Mr Woodhead said the Government recognition of ORC’s efforts was pleasing and appropriate, as the council was preparing to implement Plan Change 6A (water quality) to the Otago Water Plan.

This major policy initiative was designed to improve water quality where it was poor and maintain it where it was good.

Mr Woodhead endorsed the ministers’ comment that as the modelling in the PCE report is based on trends between 1996 and 2008, it did not take into account the Government’s water quality initiatives, or increasing actions by regional councils, iwi, the farming sector, and other water users to better manage water.

Dr Wright said NZ was undergoing huge change to land use and so decision makers needed to be aware of the consequences of this.

However, Mr Woodhead said ORC was well aware of the water quality issues the Otago region faced. The council had taken a proactive position several years ago to review and change the Water Plan so that it would be able to respond to the foreseeable challenges.

“We have led the way in New Zealand by introducing limits to the amount of contaminant that can come off rural landholdings and into rivers.”

Mr Woodhead said ORC was in the final stages of setting these limits to ensure good water quality.

“Our proposal includes permissible levels set in Otago rivers for nitrogen, sediment, phosphorus, and E.coli. The intention of the levels proposed is that they are stringent enough to ensure that water quality in rivers and lakes will be free from odour, will be safe to swim in, and gather food from.”

“This is why we are about to devote significant staff resources and effort to the major task of implementing our Water Plan changes alongside the community, particularly in the areas of community liaison and education involving best practice management,” he said.

ENDS

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