Smaller freshwater management areas recommended

OTAGO’S urban freshwater could be better managed if the Otago Regional Council focused on smaller geographical management areas when it sets pollution limits or sets up monitoring sites, Dunedin City Council staff say.

City council staff raised concerns about the existing ‘‘freshwater management unit’’ areas used by the regional council in a proposed submission to the regional council’s guide for Otago waterways to be presented at today’s full council meeting.

The city council said the current Dunedin Coast freshwater management unit area could be too large to be effective.

The Dunedin Coast area spans over 1000sq km of urban and rural land where more than 125,000 people live.

It contains the coastal margins to the north and east of Waitati, Otago Harbour and

Otago Peninsula, the city of Dunedin, the narrow coastal strip from Dunedin to north of the Clutha River, and the Tokomairiro River catchment near Milton.

It is one of five management unit areas the regional council adopted in April 2019 made up of Clutha/MataAu, Taieri, North Otago, Catlins and the Dunedin Coast.

Due to the large size of the Clutha/MataAu area, that management unit was divided into five subareas, or rohe, for a more tailored and areaappropriate water management approach.

Aside from reviewing the boundaries of the existing management areas, the city council called for management that made sure there was enough water in a water body to provide for its health.

The city council said it wanted to stop species loss and aim for eventual population enhancement for threatened species.

It also included a call for more effective communication with the public about water quality for swimming.

Under a new requirement introduced in the Government’s Essential Freshwater package this year, the regional council’s regional policy statement must include freshwater goals developed with iwi and the wider community for each management area.

Submissions close on November 27.