Upper Waitaki Zone Committee focuses on water quality

The Upper Waitaki Zone Committee met in Twizel last week for its seventh public meeting to discuss water management issues in the area.

At the meeting the committee received presentations on the state of the ground water resource, community drinking water quality, and were updated on the Land and Water Plan.

Water quality was a particular focus for the committee and critical values and priority outcomes for meeting water quality targets were discussed as part of a workshop.

“The Upper Waitaki Zone Committee has been working for months to understand water issues in the zone. We have received many presentations and visited numerous sites of interest to learn about the region’s resource and engage with the local community,” said zone committee chair Barry Shepherd.

“The committee has acknowledged that water quality is of particular importance to our zone so prior to the meeting we had a specific water quality workshop. We are now at a stage where we will begin identifying other priority areas that require special attention and form working groups to address these. The working groups will report back to the wider committee and their recommendations will ultimately form the basis of the Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP).”

The ultimate goal of the zone committee is to develop a ZIP that recommends the actions, responsibilities and time-frames for activities to help achieve the principles, targets and goals set out in the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS).

The Upper Waitaki Zone Committee expects to engage with stakeholders and community members in early 2012 about the priorities for water management that will guide the content of the ZIP.

Barry Shepherd says community input is vital to achieving the vision of the CWMS.

“Members of the community are encouraged to attend zone committee meetings and their input is essential to guiding water management decisions in our region.

“The CWMS has been designed with collaboration in mind so we look forward to engaging closely with stakeholders and the community early next year to develop a plan to help protect our fresh water for generations to come,” he said.

The Upper Waitaki Zone Committee operates as a joint committee of Environment Canterbury and the Waitaki and Mackenzie District councils. The zone extends from the headwaters of Lake Tekapo in the north, east to the Waitaki Dam, south to the Lindis Pass and takes in Lakes Tekapo, Pukaki, Ohau, Benmore and Aviemore as well as the townships of Twizel, Otematata and Omarama.

The committee will meet again on 6 October.