Time running out to have say on local water issues

People interested in having their say on the Ashburton Zone Committee’s draft Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP) have until 21 October to provide their feedback.

In late September the zone committee hosted a series of well-attended public meetings to facilitate discussion around the draft ZIP.

Committee Chair Matthew Hall says the public meetings were invaluable to providing an insight into the variety of community views around water management.

“The zone committee was very pleased with the turn out at the community water meetings. In total there were around 60 people across the three meetings who took the opportunity to have their say.

“The underlying philosophy of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy is that local communities should be making decisions on local water management. The Ashburton Draft ZIP is the mechanism for delivering these goals so it’s important people have their say.

“The meetings helped inform us about what people liked and didn’t like and what they thought was missing and their feedback will all be taken into account when we begin reviewing and updating the draft ZIP before submitting it to councils,” he said.

The Ashburton Zone Committee’s draft ZIP recommends actions, responsibilities and time-frames for activities to help achieve the principles, targets and goals set out in the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS).

It has been developed following numerous committee meetings and extensive stakeholder and community engagement to gather information about the region’s water resource.

The draft ZIP includes recommendations on four key priority areas; Hakatere / Ashburton River, ecosystem health and biodiversity, water quality, and water quantity.

Matthew Hall says how water is allocated and used is crucial to the future of the region so people should feel compelled to have their say.

“How our water is managed will affect our region for generations to come. It is vital the right water management approach is taken to ensure present and future generations the greatest social and economic benefits from the resource.

“We would encourage people who weren’t able to make it along to one of our meetings to go online and submit a feedback form or collect one from one of the council offices,” he said.

The Ashburton Draft ZIP prioritises the ten Canterbury Water Management Strategy targets in the Ashburton zone and suggests actions to achieve the milestones set out in the Strategy.

It contains more than 70 recommendations to the Ashburton District Council, Environment Canterbury and other stakeholders.

Community members have until 21 October to provide their feedback on the Ashburton Draft ZIP.

This can be done by visiting the Ashburton ZIP page, by collecting a copy of the draft ZIP from Enivronment Canterbury (Ellesemere Centre, 24 Edward Street, Lincoln) or Ashburton District Council offices (5 Baring Square West, Ashburton).