Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone Committee meeting | infonews.co.nz New Zealand News

The Orari-Opihi-Pareora (OOP) Zone Committee will hold its regular monthly meeting in Timaru on Monday, 2 July. The key focus for the meeting will be working to identify options to bring more water into the zone, which is a key recommendation in its Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP) for water management. The committee will receive a presentation from Environment Canterbury on the regional development model being used to inform the approach to developing regional infrastructure to achieve this goal. The committee will then receive an update from Hunter Downs on its infrastructure plans and the contribution the scheme will make to delivering the targets of Canterbury Water Management Strategy in the zone. The Hunter Downs Irrigation Scheme is a proposal developed by the South Canterbury Irrigation Trust and Meridian Energy to irrigate up to 40,000 hectares of a total area of 60,000 hectares from the Waitaki River north. Another focus for the committee will be on the implementing various aspects of its ZIP, which forms the basis for the design and realignment of work programmes, for drafting regional plan provisions. It features 50 recommendations to councils with Environment Canterbury leading or involved in 41 of the recommendations. Almost half the recommendations relate to the on-the-ground initiatives for biodiversity, pests, water quality, drainage and nutrient management. As part of this, the committee will receive an update on final recommendations on the draft Orari River Environmental Flow and Allocation Regime Plan. The Plan has been under development since 2008 and this has included extensive community engagement. The Plan is set to be included in the Land and Water Plan (LWRP), which is to be notified in August. 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 Details Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone Committee meeting 1pm, Monday, 2 July Pukaki Room, Environment Canterbury Offices, Church Street, Timaru <a href="http://ecan.govt.nz/publications/Council/cw-oop-agenda-020712.pdf">Read the agenda</a> (245 kB)