MEDIA ADVISORY
5 October 2011

Upper Waitaki Zone Committee meeting
The Upper Waitaki Zone Committee will meet on Thursday, 6 October at the Sefton Room at The Hermitage, Aoraki / Mount Cook.

At the meeting the committee will receive presentations on a number of important issues relevant to water management in the zone. These include presentations on tourism from Destination Mount Cook Mackenzie, and the energy sector from Meridian Energy.

The Upper Waitaki Zone Committee members have been working for months to understand water issues in the zone with the goal of developing a Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP) that will enable present and future generations the greatest social and economic benefits from the region’s water.

At this week’s meeting the committee will also discuss its work programme and look at how it can continue to engage with stakeholders and community members to get their feedback on water management in the zone.

To date the zone committee has met with numerous stakeholders to better understand the region’s resource. The zone committee will be seeking further comment from stakeholders and the community on water management priorities for the zone in November.

At recent meetings water quality has been a particular focus for the committee and critical values and priority outcomes for meeting water quality targets have also been discussed. Specifically, the committee has identified they wish to see no decline in water quality in Lake Benmore.

Since the Upper Waitaki Zone Committee was formed in February 2011 it has had briefings from technical experts, a number of field trips around the district, and meetings with stakeholders and community members to gauge the range of views on water management.

The Committee operates as a joint committee of Environment Canterbury and the Waitaki and Mackenzie District councils. Zone committee meetings are open to the public and community members are encouraged to attend.

Meeting information

Upper Waitaki Zone Committee meeting
Thursday, 6 October 2011 at 5:45pm
Sefton Room at The Hermitage, Aoraki / Mount Cook

Link to agenda:
http://ecan.govt.nz/publications/Council/upper-waitaki-agenda-061011.pdf .

ENDS

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