Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone Committee meeting

The Orari-Opihi-Pareora (OOP) Zone Committee will meet on Friday, 18 November, in Timaru.

Since forming, the committee has had numerous public meetings, field trips and presentations to bring it up to speed on the water resource in the zone.

At its meeting this week the committee will be updated by the Regional Committee on its progress before receiving presentations on the Opihi Review Process and Orari River Plan from Environment Canterbury employees.

Environment Canterbury Surface Water Resource and Ecology Manager Dr Tim Davie will discuss water yield and quantity in the zone and the contribution of vegetation to water yield.

The committee will then discuss the progress of its draft Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP). The draft ZIP will recommend actions, responsibilities and time-frames to help achieve the principles, targets and goals set out in the Canterbury Water Management Strategy.

In mid-October the committee held community meetings to get feedback on priorities for water management in the zone. The feedback from these meetings will help guide the draft ZIP which will be released for public feedback in early 2012.

At this week’s meeting the committee will also discuss how it can work with other zone committees and members of the community to address issues surrounding the zone’s braided rivers. Many rivers in Canterbury cross zone committee boundaries, with the Rangitata being of interest to the OOP zone committee as well as to the Ashburton Zone Committee.

The meeting will finish with a presentation from recreational kayakers.

The OOP Zone Committee operates as 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.

Meeting information

Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone Committee meeting
3.30pm on Friday 18 November 2011
Meeting Room 1, Timaru District Council building , King George Place , Timaru

Read the agenda (279 kB)