11 June 2013

Locals invited to have a say on local water management

A meeting is being held in mid-June for South Coastal Canterbury residents who are concerned about local water quality and water use.

The meeting will explore what local people consider is acceptable for water quality and quantity in the South Canterbury Coastal Streams area (from the Otaio River in the north to the Morven Drain in the south, with the western boundary the Waihao River catchment in the Hunters Hills).

The meeting reflects the Lower Waitaki – South Coastal Canterbury Zone Committee’s recent focus on developing recommendations on limits for the Waitaki sub-regional section of Environment Canterbury’s proposed Land & Water Regional Plan (pLWRP).

The proposed LWRP provides the framework to facilitate delivery of the community’s aspirations for water management – as set out in the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS).

Lower Waitaki – South Coastal Canterbury Zone Committee Chair Robin Murphy said local input is important to ensuring decisions are made in the bests interests of the zone.

“The underlying philosophy of the CWMS is that local communities are best placed to make decisions on local water management.

“We are keen to engage with community members to ensure a wide range of views are represented in the recommendations we make.

“We were really heartened with the response from the community at our local meetings last month, so we are looking forward to seeing even more this time.

“Specifically, we need to hear people’s views on water quality and quantity limits in the area to guide the development a sub-regional plan for our zone, which will feed in to the proposed LWRP,” he said.

The proposed LWRP will start with default limits for water use, water allocation, and nutrients, and then put the limits in a catchment context. The committee’s focus is currently on building our understanding of the impacts of limits so we can make informed recommendations.

The meeting is one of three hosted by the Lower Waitaki - South Coastal Canterbury Zone Committee, which is working with community members and stakeholders to provide recommendations to Councils on water management.

The zone committee operates as a joint committee of Environment Canterbury and the Waimate and Waitaki District Councils. The zone extends from the Otaio catchment in the north, to the Waitaki Dam in the south, taking in Waimate, Kurow and Duntroon.

Limit Setting Meeting details

Wednesday, 19 June 4:00pm to 7:45pm (light supper provided).
Waimate Community Hall, Queen St

ends

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