Better Water Data From Irrigators

Over the very dry summer and autumn, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has taken a tougher stance on those irrigators who have not provided water take data on time - with good results.

Thirty nine abatement notices have been issued this irrigation season to consent holders who were slow in providing water take data or weren’t providing it in the right way. As a result, every consent holder has sent the required data to the Council. Some of these consent holders are large agricultural water users.

“Most irrigators are great and get their data in to us on time. We have tried a more gentle approach in the past to encourage the stragglers - without much success. It is good to see that they are now taking their obligation seriously, after this firmer approach,” said Darryl Lew, Manager of Environmental Regulation.
“Water is important to everyone in the region and so that the Regional Council can monitor and manage water use on their behalf, consent holders have to play their part.”

To avoid similar problems in future dry seasons, the abatement notices also stipulated that all future data must be submitted on time and in the right format.

The Regional Council will take enforcement action against any consent holder who does not abide by the legal requirements of the consent conditions in future.

All irrigation water taken from aquifers, streams and rivers is governed by resource consents. Without exception the terms of the consents set out a requirement for users to provide the details on how much water they take to the Regional Council.

This information is used by the Council to determine that the right amount of water is being taken, and help manage the use of water.

“There is a lot of public attention now on the wise use of water in Hawke’s Bay and irrigators are the most visible users of this resource, so have a vital role in its sound management,” said Mr Lew.