Newsletter - September 2008

Steady progress made says Chair Bede O'Malley

Canterbury Water Management Strategy Steering Group Chair Bede O'Malley is pleased with progress being made towards developing a strategy for managing Canterbury's water.

"I congratulate everyone involved so far, including representatives from local community groups and organisations, Environment Canterbury facilitators and the OpenStrategies team, on a productive series of workshops that were well attended and well run," he says.

More than 250 people attended locally based workshops where, through often robust debate, they identified several hundred benefits and uses of water as a prelude to developing the strategy.

"As a result of these workshops we have built up a wide base of stakeholders who represent a wide range of opinions on Canterbury Water both locally and regionally. We know the bottom lines on water use of the people of Canterbury and we are developing the basis of discussion and interaction before we get into the really difficult issues."

The Canterbury Water Management Strategy is being developed under the leadership of the Mayoral Forum, which comprises the mayors, chairs and chief executives from all of Canterbury's councils, including the chair and chief executive of Environment Canterbury. The Steering Group reports to the Forum and is responsible for developing and implementing the strategy.

Bede O'Malley says there have been many situations in the past where water has been debated and there is general agreement that Canterbury needs to manage its water better.

"Every year pressure on the region's water resources continues to grow. For instance, in the seven years to 2006 there was a 49% increase in water allocated for irrigation in Canterbury. About half of New Zealand's hydroelectricity is generated here. At the same time, many people are insisting that more water be protected to maintain the diverse and beautiful environment we are privileged to live in."

"It is now critical that at least a 20 year plan is developed to ensure the water resource is managed fairly and sustainably. It's clear that people are taking this issue very seriously and are prepared to get involved in finding solutions."

The main themes emerging from the workshops were that people have welcomed the opportunity to have their say and there is a genuine desire, regardless of any particular interest, to see water managed for the collective wellbeing of current and future generations so that all uses, whether for drinking, biodiversity, recreation, industry or intrinsic value, are fairly catered for.

"Having attended a number of the workshops, I am pleased to report that the facilitated process gave stakeholders had the space and opportunity to put forward their thoughts and feelings (whether positive or negative) and that many of those involved have been glad of the opportunity to be actively involved in this next stage of developing a community-led, solution-focused management plan for Canterbury's water."

Bede O'Malley says the Mayoral Forum is committed to working together to create a strategy for water management that takes account of all interests and sets a direction for the future. "Until now this work has had a scientific and technical focus and has involved some stakeholder consultation which is largely contained in the Stage Three report published on our website."

"We're now moving the programme forward by introducing many more groups and organisations to some of our water management issues, and getting their views on the uses and benefits of water. The general public will be able to have their say later in the year."

Uses and benefits identified

The first round of stakeholder workshops to identify the diverse uses and benefits of water around the region is now completed. They have delivered a wealth of information on the things about water that are important to the people of Canterbury.

The views of stakeholders fall broadly into three main categories:

Non-negotiable or universal perspectives: things most stakeholders consider to be clear, non-negotiable and crucially important.
Widely expressed views: frequently mentioned but about which there is less universal agreement.
Strongly held, but less widely expressed, views: things believed by some, but not all, people to be crucially important.

There was a strong degree of consensus among almost all attendees about which things are non-negotiable. Examples of the uses and benefits in this category are that water use (in its widest sense) must be ecologically, environmentally, culturally, spiritually and economically sustainable. Canterbury people expect equity, fairness and balance in the management of the region's water, so as to achieve strong community cohesion.

Many stakeholders emphasised the need for a specific result from the programme, which is: to develop and implement a Canterbury Water Management Strategy that protects the interests of future generations.

People also want to see something happen and expressed frustration at the time taken to "sort out" Canterbury's water management.

A report on the uses and benefits of water identified at the workshops will be published by early October and the general public will then be invited to have their say.

Hurunui water storage a hot topic

Future options for and against the possibility of water storage are a hot topic for Hurunui people who want to ensure their needs are considered in the development of the wider Canterbury Water Management Strategy.

This is just one example of the kinds of local issues that have been talked about at the 11 locality-based stakeholder workshops held around the region in recent weeks.

People in the area are very passionate about the local waters, especially with regard to the Hurunui River and the proposal to develop water storage. These subjects were the focus of discussions on uses and benefits of water at a meeting in Culverden on 6 August, attended by 30 people from local community groups and organisations.

"No one at the meeting would have questioned the importance of well thought out management of the district's water resources," facilitator James Hoban said. "In this regard people were pleased to see the attempt of the Mayoral Forum to develop a strategy which takes all views into consideration and aims to satisfy the wants and needs of communities through consultation with them."

James said there was a strong representation of irrigation interests and community members who had observed the growth and prosperity irrigation has brought to the Amuri basin.

"On the south side of the Hurunui River where many are dry land farming with uncertain futures there is a real desire to have some of the security water offers. The comment was made that even with the opportunity to water a portion of 10 or 15 per cent of a farm that property's viability as a business increases and the farmer is offered some security. On the other side of the coin there are conservation interests represented by people who feel very strongly about the Hurunui River in particular and fear further intensification of farming practice in the area.

"An alternative and strongly expressed view was that recent irrigation-enabled land use changes were permanently destroying what some people feel is the beautiful, but historically dry land Hurunui environment, with its powerfully contrasting river system.

"The main uses of water identified by those who attended this workshop were: irrigation, environmental/biodiversity, drinking, municipal and waste systems, domestic, swimming, fishing, boating and aesthetic recreational uses. Other uses included waterfowl shooting, painting and riparian enhancement with native plants replacing exotics such as pines and willows."

Being offered an opportunity to have their views recorded officially for consideration as part of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy was welcomed by most people, James said. "People want to see that any eventual projects stem from the wants and needs of the ultimate water users and that the treasured local resource is respected and used in a way all interests can appreciate and future generations can enjoy. The water is there for all and ideally should be something everyone can enjoy."

Notably, at other workshops, people expressed strong interest in continuing to engage with or use many of Canterbury's iconic rivers and lakes such as the Hurunui and Lake Sumner. This confirms that many Cantabrians have an interest in most of Canterbury's waters.

Groups to meet on energy, tourism, biodiversity and land use intensification

Finding out more about the views of specific groups on the uses and benefits of water is an important part of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy consultation process.

A further round of workshops will be held in October for representatives of community organisations and groups with an interest in biodiversity, land use intensification, energy and tourism. A group representing young people's views will also be consulted.

As with the first round of stakeholder workshops, these will be by invitation only. This is to ensure that the focus is on the subject of interest to the people involved, providing in-depth knowledge that will assist the next stage of programme development.

There will be opportunities in the future for public comment on these subjects.

Public consultation

The general public will soon be invited to have their say on which benefits and uses of water they regard as important. This will ensure the list of uses and benefits is as complete as possible.

Information provided at the workshops will be developed into a report that covers the full range of uses and benefits identified by attendees. This will be published on the www.canterburywater.org.nz website in the week commencing 6 October 2008.

Public consultation on the draft report will remain open for three weeks, ending on 27 October 2008. Members of the public will be able to make submissions on the draft report by letter or email. They will also be able to comment at any stage of the process by posting directly on the ‘Getting Involved' section of the website. A final report including input received from the public will be published on the website in the week commencing 17 November 2008.

The programme is now moving into its next phase, which involves identifying projects and results that lead through to people using or relating to water in ways that create the kinds of benefits they are looking for. From October 2008 to March 2009 there will be ongoing clusters of stakeholder workshops where projects and results that could lead to the myriad of uses and benefits identified in the report will be discussed.