30 October 2015

OOP Zone Committee focuses on water resource information to inform future planning

The Orari-Opihi-Pareora (OOP) Zone Committee will meet in Timaru on Monday 2 November for its regular meeting to discuss local water management issues.

The key focus for the meeting will be on learning more about the current state of the local water resource to help build knowledge prior to the sub-regional planning process beginning in the zone in the middle of next year.

As part of this, Environment Canterbury will present its zone monitoring results for 2014-15 and update the committee on the catchment modelling work being undertaken. A year-long monthly monitoring programme over 30 new sites is also being undertaken to provide more comprehensive information and address any possible knowledge gaps.

The NZ Landcare Trust is also leading a joint project (Opihi Water Project) focusing on sharing and coordinating water quality information, mitigating the impact of farming systems, and supporting catchment groups to ensure the community is engaged in the process.

Since beginning in July last year, some of the Opihi Water Project’s achievements have included the development of five year outcomes and actions for the zone’s eight catchment groups, the facilitation of a range of field days and Farm Environment Plan workshops, and the production useful information for farmers.

The committee will also receive a report on dairy effluent compliance in the zone. Environment Canterbury’s Canterbury Region Dairy Report for the 2014-2015 Season has been released and it shows there was less serious non-compliance with resource consent conditions in the 2014-15 dairy season than in the previous year, but higher rates of minor non-compliance.

The monitoring of Canterbury’s 1149 dairy farms is an essential part of implementing the Canterbury Water Management Strategy and helps make sure the intensification of farming does not unduly impact on water quality throughout the region.

At the meeting, the committee will also consider two new projects for Immediate Steps biodiversity funding to fence, plant and control weeds at local wetlands with significant biodiversity values. The Immediate Steps programme supports projects that protect and restore local freshwater biodiversity values. There is still funding available visit www.ecan.govt.nz/biodiversity for further information.

The OOP Zone Committee is a joint committee of Environment Canterbury and the Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils. The zone extends south from the Rangitata River through to the Pareora catchment. It includes all of the Timaru district and parts of the Mackenzie and Waimate districts.

Members of the public are encouraged to attend zone committee meetings time is allocated for community members to have their say.

Meeting Details

Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone Committee meeting
1:00pm, Monday, 2 November, 2015
Meeting Room 1, Timaru District Council, Timaru

For an agenda visit the OOP page at www.ecan.govt.nz/canterburywater .

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