Acceptable, sensible water solutions eyed
Last Saturday as I headed out on the farm to check the stock, I was struck by what a glorious Southland morning it was.
Scanning the broad vistas and faint outlines of Stewart Island in the distance from my hilltop vantage point, I reflected on the stunning mountains-to-sea landscape we live in, in our special part of the world, and what it is to be a Southlander.
I believe we are at a pivotal time in Southland’s history. During the next few years, Environment Southland will need to work closely with Southlanders, both urban and rural, to craft sensible and acceptable solutions to water quality and quantity issues across the region. Your contribution and opinions are important to shaping this unique Southland response.
Scientific monitoring shows that water quality in some areas of Southland is poor. This week the Government released swimmability maps, which give a snapshot in time for safe swimming based on levels of the contaminant, E-coli. Southland’s low lying recreational bathing sites don’t fare well. There’s more information about Southland’s swimmability maps online a es.govt.nz and the most current information about our bathing sites is available on our website and LAWA.org.nz.
Let’s be clear, improving water quality is not only a rural problem. Aged storm water systems and breaching sewerage systems in urban and suburban areas also contribute, and some of the costs of mitigation will need to be borne by urban dwellers through city and district council rates.
Environment Southland councillors and senior staff held a two-day strategic workshop several weeks ago, which gave us a glimpse at some of the potential changes we will face over the next 20 to 30 years and some of the threats and opportunities they will bring.
At the workshop there was a presentation by South Port. It included information on the formation of the island harbour in the late 50s and early 60s. Environment Southland is the majority shareholder of South Port, but I wasn’t aware of this significant chapter in Southland’s history. The island harbour enabled the port to take greater volumes and more diversity of cargo, provided increased storage, and much greater capacity for Southland exports.
I was impressed by the vision and determination of the Bluff Harbour Board to proceed with such an ambitious project (selling debentures to fund it) to help secure Southland’s future.
We all need to have this kind of future-focus: What do you want Southland look like in 20 to 30 years? What are the unique qualities and values Southland has to offer that we want to take with us into the future? What do we need to protect? What can we enhance? What must we do well over the next few years to secure a bright and sustainable future for generations to come?
The Southland Regional Development Strategy identifies water as an enabler because it underpins the economy and our lifestyle. And it is Environment Southland’s responsibility as a regional council to lead the sustainable management of Southland’s water resource.
The story of the port has stood the test of time, but more importantly the people of Southland shared in their vision, and saw the project as vital to their future. It has reinforced my view that our council needs to go out and have more conversations with the communities, councils and businesses of Southland about why we need to work together to improve water quality, and why achieving that goal is of vital importance to the future generations of Southlanders.
But we will only be successful if the majority of Southlanders see the need for the journey and support the direction of travel. Like the port company’s vision, finding solutions for Southland’s water issues is about securing prosperity for our future generations.
Southlanders are resilient, practical and fair minded people. Once convinced changes are necessary, I know you will help come up with practical solutions to deal issues in your local area, which will be more effective than having traditional rules-based, broad-brush solutions imposed.
I am aware there is confusion in the community about our different work streams. The council has always talked about its Water and Land 2020 & Beyond project, which simply speaking, encapsulated all our work in the water space. Last year we notified the proposed Southland Water and Land Plan, which brought together existing plans, refined some rules and added new ones. A key focus of this plan is to shift all land users to good management practices to help improve water quality.
Currently, the council is working on the People, Water and Land Strategy, which will inform how we work with your communities to find solutions for managing water quality in each catchment. The importance of this strategy has been recognised by the Government, which has put some funding into developing it. Soon Environment Southland councillors and staff will be going out to engage in the much needed community conversations, pivotal to Southland’s water quality issues and our future.
Nicol Horrell is the chairman of Environment Southland