New law needed to enable water strategy, says Burke

DAVID HALLETT/ The Press

SHAKE-UP COMING: Ashburton Mayor Bede O'Malley, left, hands over the draft Canterbury water-management strategy document to Agriculture Minister David Carter at Mona Vale, Christchurch.

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A special Canterbury bill should pave the way for a huge shake-up of water management in the region, Environment Canterbury chairman Sir Kerry Burke says.

The draft Canterbury water-management strategy, developed by a group of mayors, officials and interest groups, was released yesterday.

Burke said a bill would give the legal framework for the 10 committees that the strategy suggested to oversee water zones in Canterbury.

"The regional council should promote it," he said.

Changes to the Resource Management Act and the Local Government Act might be necessary to allow the new structure to operate, he said.

Agriculture Minister David Carter said yesterday that if current legislation stood in the way of the collaborative approach going ahead, the Government would "look at that favourably".

The Government has created a land-and-water forum to look at water allocation.

At the strategy's official launch yesterday, Carter said Canterbury could press ahead without waiting for the forum to report to the Government in July next year. "The pressure on water resources here is greater than anywhere else in New Zealand," he said.

Canterbury has 70 per cent of New Zealand's irrigated land, and the irrigated area has doubled in the past 10 years.

Financial benefits have come at an environmental cost, including 10 red zones (where water is over-allocated), nitrate contamination and some rivers being reduced to a trickle.

Environmental groups have raised concerns over a proposed public-private body to design, build, finance and operate new water storage and distribution facilities in the region.

The scheme will eventually be funded by water charges.

Forest & Bird South Island field co-ordinator Chris Todd said the entity would be selling water, raising the issue of water ownership.

Representation on water zone committees was also a concern, Todd said.

North Canterbury Fish & Game head Ross Millichamp was puzzled that the draft strategy dismissed on-farm storage as "wasteful".

Public submissions will close on October 2, with the final strategy being released that month.

- © Fairfax NZ News