Water Quality Plan change Absolutely Essential

Otago Regional Council’s Water Quality Plan Change 6A is absolutely essential if polluted rivers are to be rehabilitated and rivers with good water quality are to be maintained in their present state says Niall Watson, Chief Executive of Otago Fish and Game Council.

Degraded water quality in rivers and streams is not just a rural land use problem and local government also needs to step up over issues like run-off from rural roads just as farmers need to in their management of farmland.

Intensive land use in both rural and urban areas inevitably needs a fundamental rethink if we are to have healthy rivers and while there were likely to be additional costs involved in complying with new water quality standards, the alternative is to impose environmental costs on the community.

It is just not acceptable to tolerate impacts such as increased health risks for people engaging in contact river recreation, diminished habitat values for trout, salmon and native fish and the general erosion of recreational amenity.

ORC’s latest water quality survey confirms that we are not holding the line on water quality in areas of intensive land use in Otago despite major efforts. While ORC’s recent farm compliance monitoring results show farmer compliance is heading in the right direction there is clearly a lot more that needs to be done. Smarter and more intensive management of off-site impacts of land use activities is required if rivers are to be in good shape for public use and enjoyment.

ENDS

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