1 February 2016

MEDIA RELEASE

Selwyn-Waihora water plan operative

Environment Canterbury announced today that the Selwyn-Waihora Plan Change (Plan Change 1 to the Land & Water Regional Plan) has been made operative.

The Plan Change introduces new policies, rules and limits to manage water quality and water quantity in the Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere catchment, with particular emphasis on the long-term health of Te Waihora.

Commissioner Peter Skelton said the effect of the Plan Change reaching this point was that its provisions would replace those in the Land & Water Regional Plan. “This is another significant milestone towards addressing the serious water quality issues in one of the most challenging catchments in the country,” Professor Skelton said. “It is further tribute to the collaborative Canterbury Water Management Strategy that we were able to deal with all appeals on Plan Change 1 by way of mediation.”

“Council is confident the Plan Change delivers the vision of Selwyn-Waihora Zone Committee – to restore the mauri of Te Waihora while maintaining the prosperous land-based economy and thriving communities,” Professor Skelton said.

“I would like to pay tribute to the Zone Committee, Ngāi Tahu and the local community for their commitment and dedication to the task of producing an integrated package of solutions to deliver longer-term water quality outcomes. We will now see a generation of important change through programmes like Whakaora Te Waihora,” Professor Skelton said.

“Continuous improvement will be needed over time, so a programme of action has been developed to implement the solutions package over the next 20 years.”

Professor Skelton said it was particularly important to recognise the significance to Ngāi Tahu of Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere and its margins being recognised in the Plan Change. “The identification of a Cultural Landscape Values Management Area means consent applications in this area will specifically need to take into account Ngāi Tahu values,” he said.

The Selwyn-Waihora Plan Change introduces catchment limits for losses of nitrogen from farming activities and point source discharges - community sewage and industrial processing activities. It sets limits on abstraction from surface water and ground water in the zone, and minimum flows on rivers and streams. It also seeks to reduce allocation from ground water over time, and new takes are prohibited.

This Plan Change is the first sub-regional section in the Land & Water Regional Plan to be fully developed. Further plan changes for other catchments are at different stages in the process, with significant announcements imminent on nutrient management by farmers generally and the Waitaki sub-region specifically.

“Excellent progress has been made with our planning work in the last few years,” Peter Skelton concluded. “In partnership with the community, we are well on the way towards completing catchment-focused rules for the whole region.”

Key features of the Selwyn-Waihora Plan change

• Farmers will be required to reduce their nutrient losses. The timetable for this allows them to make improvements to their nutrient management while maintaining farm financial viability. Where nitrogen loss rates are more than 15 kilograms per hectare per year, from 2022 farming activities must reduce their nitrogen losses – in the case of dairy, by an average of 30%

• A nitrogen loss allocation is available for the dryland that will be irrigated by the Central Plains Water irrigation scheme

• The role of drains in contributing nutrients, sediment and microbial contaminants to waterways and the lake is recognised, with stock access prohibition extended to drains

• To help address water quantity issues, water allocation limits are set, new takes are prohibited and the transfer of water permits is restricted. New minimum flow restrictions on streams and rivers are introduced from 2025

• A prohibition on new damming extends to the Waianiwaniwa River and its tributaries and the north branch of the Selwyn River.

For more information on the Selwyn –Waihora Plan change go to – www.ecan.govt.nz/lwrp-pc1

For more information on the Land & Water Regional Plan, www.ecan.govt.nz/lwrp

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