Northern Outlook

Have your say on Waimakarir­i’s water

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We’re seeking your feedback on important water issues that affect all of us living in Waimakarir­i as we work towards preparing recommenda­tions for the draft Waimakarir­i Land and Water Solutions Programme.

To allow more time to consult with the wider community and stakeholde­r groups such as farmers, local iwi and interest groups, we’ve extended the timeframe for preparing the draft recommenda­tions by two months until September. Once the draft recommenda­tions are completed, we’re going to hold a series of public meetings throughout Waimakarir­i to hear your thoughts on options for managing our waterways.

We all know that we have a problem with nitrates and that something needs to be done to improve our water quality. The situation is worse than we originally thought after Environmen­t Canterbury’s recent nitrate assessment­s revealed that low levels of nitrates are moving from Waimakarir­i through to northern Christchur­ch. We’ve been liaising with the Christchur­ch West Melton Zone Committee and talking to local farmers about likely nitrate reductions.

Reaching good management practice isn’t going to be enough to reduce nitrates to an acceptable level so we’re going to have to take further action. While we acknowledg­e the work farmers are doing to reduce their impact on the environmen­t through farm environmen­t plans and good management practice, these measures won’t make enough of a dent in nitrate levels.

There will definitely be reductions but we don’t have the exact numbers or timeframes nailed down yet. We’re meeting regularly with Waimakarir­i Irrigation Limited (WIL) shareholde­rs to discuss with them what level of reductions would be workable. There’s going to have to be give and take, with changes required.

We’re all in this together and it is vital that we have our say on water issues in our area. Water is one of the most important issues in New Zealand today and we must work together to make the necessary improvemen­ts. It’s not about blaming each other, but instead acknowledg­ing that we have problems to sort out and now is the time to take action to improve and protect our streams and rivers for all of us to enjoy, both now and in the future.

I encourage all of you to attend the upcoming public meetings so you can have your say on the future of our waterways.

Further details on the upcoming meetings will be provided in the coming months. Please look out for the advertisem­ents in your local newspapers and I look forward to hearing your thoughts at the meetings.

 ?? SUPPLIED ?? David Ashby is the chair of the Waimakarir­i water zone committee.
SUPPLIED David Ashby is the chair of the Waimakarir­i water zone committee.
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