Media release

19 October 2015

Lower Waitaki – South Coastal Canterbury Zone Committee focuses on sub-regional planning and water investigations

The Lower Waitaki – South Coastal Canterbury Zone Committee will meet in Waimate on Wednesday 21 October for its monthly water management meeting.

The committee will begin the meeting with a presentation from Irrigation NZ on its work which contributes to the CWMS Water Use Efficiency Target area.

The committee will then receive an update on water investigations in the zone to better inform future water management decisions. This will include an update on an investigation in to Greater Waikakahi surface water and groundwater interactions.

Next, the committee will discuss an extension programme which has been developed to help deliver good land management practices in the zone, specifically the prioritisation of catchments.

Following this, the committee will receive an update on progress towards notification of the Waitaki sub-regional section of the Land and Water regional Plan.

The committee has completed recommendations for water quality and quantity in the South Coastal Canterbury part of the zone and water quality in the Lower Waitaki part. These recommendations are being translated into planning provisions and a suite of non-statutory actions.

The committee will finish the meeting with a discussion on a proposed Wainono Lagoon workshop, scheduled for December. Wainono Lagoon is a coastal lagoon and taonga (treasure) of tangata whenua and its restoration is a key priority for the Committee.

The Committee has been working with landowners, rūnanga, community groups, councils and the government to protect and restore the lagoon. Some of the workundertaken to date includes work includes sediment and erosion control, fencing streams, native plantings, protecting wetlands, weed control, and assisting fish passage.

The Lower Waitaki - South Coastal Canterbury 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.

Meeting information

Lower Waitaki – South Coastal Canterbury Zone Committee meeting

1:00pm, Wednesday, 21 October, 2015

Waimate District Council, Queen Street, Waimate

For a copy of the agenda visit the Lower Waitaki page at www.ecan.govt.nz .

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