Orari-Opihi-Pareora Water Zone Management Committee
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ORARI-OPIHI-PAREORA WATER ZONE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE on Monday 2 November 2015 1pm Meeting Room 1 Timaru District Council Timaru ORARI-OPIHI-PAREORA WATER ZONE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE Notice is hereby given that an Orari-Opihi-Pareora Water Zone Management Committee meeting will be held on Monday 2 November 2015 at 1pm in Meeting Room 1, Timaru District Council, 2 King George Place, Timaru. Committee Members: Dermott O’Sullivan (Chairman), David Caygill, Kylee Galbraith, John Henry, Mandy Home, Tony Howey, Richard Lyon, James Pearse, Ad Sintenie, John Talbot, Mark Webb, and Evan Williams ORARI-OPIHI-PAREORA WATER ZONE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 2 NOVEMBER 2015 MEETING 1pm 1 Apologies 2 Register of Interest 3 1 Confirmation of Minutes Correspondence 4 7 Nutrient Management in the Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone 9 CWMS targets - Emerging Contaminant Risk 5 Facilitator Update – new zone manager 11 Structuring the Work Programme: Working Group 6 Memberships and Terms of Reference 7 15 Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone Monitoring Results 2014-15 8 30 Technical Work Stream Update 9 Catchment Group Updates 10 Orari Gorge 11 31 Landcare Trust Project Next Steps Powerpoint 12 circulated Understanding Overseer - Presentation separately BREAK 13 Public Forum 14 37 Biodiversity Initiatives in the Zone 15 45 Regional Planning – Update on Plan Change 5 Circulated 16 Dairy Compliance Reporting separately 17 47 Regional Committee Update 18 48 2016 Zone Committee Meeting Dates 19 49 Environment Reporting Act 20 51 Eeling Progress Report 2 November 2015 Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone #961964 Management Committee ORARI-OPIHI-PAREORA WATER ZONE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE FOR THE MEETING OF 2 NOVEMBER 2015 Report for Agenda Item No 3 Prepared by Joanne Brownie Secretary Confirmation of Minutes – Committee Meeting 14 September 2015 ___________________________ Minutes of the September Committee meeting. Recommendation That the minutes of the Committee meeting held on 14 September 2015, be confirmed as a true and correct record. 2 November 2015 Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone #961964 1 Management Committee ORARI-OPIHI-PAREORA ZONE WATER MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES OF AN ORARI-OPIHI-PAREORA ZONE WATER MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING HELD IN MEETING ROOM 1, TIMARU DISTRICT COUNCIL, 2 KING GEORGE PLACE, TIMARU ON MONDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2015 AT 1PM PRESENT John Talbot (Acting Chairperson), David Caygill, Kylee Galbraith, John Henry, Mandy Home, Richard Lyon (until 2.25pm), Dermott O’Sullivan, James Pearse, Ad Sintenie and Evan Williams APOLOGIES Tony Howey and Mark Webb IN ATTENDANCE Barbara Nicholas (OOP facilitator), Peter Ramsden (Tangata Whenua facilitator), Dan Clark (Senior Hydrology Scientist), Sam Freeman (ECan Resource Management Officer), Janet Gregory (Landcare Trust), Michelle Ward (Landcare Trust), Janine Holland and Steven Breneger (Irrigation NZ), Alice Spencer (ECan Planner) The meeting began with a karakia from Peter Ramsden. 1 WELCOME The Chairperson welcomed John Henry to the meeting, representing Arowhenua. A welcome back was also extended to Dermott O’Sullivan and Ad Sintenie who have been on leave. 2 REGISTER OF INTERESTS There were no updates advised to the register of interests. 3 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES Proposed Kylee Galbraith Seconded Richard Lyon “That the minutes of the Orari-Opihi-Pareora Water Zone Management Committee meeting held on 3 August 2015 be confirmed as a true and correct record.” MOTION CARRIED 4 FACILITATOR UPDATE The Facilitator tabled a list of activities over the last 6 weeks and information regarding the Washdyke Community day to be held on 4 October. Janet Gregory, of Landcare Trust will be taking over the Canterbury projects, replacing Phil Keene who has retired. A facilitators meeting will be held soon to undertake forward planning. Testing of the lake bed at Lake Opuha has now been completed and the samples are with the laboratory. The Committee will be kept informed when the results are available. 2 November 2015 Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone #961964 2 Management Committee 5 SMART IRRIGATION CAMPAIGN Janice Holland and Steven Breneger gave a presentation on a pilot public awareness campaign to be launched later in the year. Irrigation NZ is a small organisation which is aiming to move the whole irrigation industry to best practice, developing codes of practice towards greater water efficiency. The pilot programme builds on the results of public poling undertaken some years ago which indicated people’s wish for irrigation to be sustainable. The main aim of the campaign is to increase awareness and reduce water consumption, eventually aiming to change behaviour. Irrigation NZ will be partnering with ECan, local authorities, industry and other primary sector organisations. The pilot will be launched mid to late November, with activity in December 2015/January 2016 and the programme reviewed in February 2016. The pilot areas are Timaru, Ashburton, Selwyn and Waimakariri but it is intended to expand the areas in 2016. Irrigation NZ would like the zone committee to indicate if it wishes to be involved, as it will be preparing its strategy over the next 6 weeks. Proposed Dermott O’Sullivan Seconded Evan Williams “That the Zone Committee endorses the SMART irrigation campaign and wishes Irrigation NZ success with its programme.” MOTION CARRIED 6 COMPLIANCE ACTIVITY IN THE WASHDYKE/WAITARAKAO AREA Sam Freeman tabled a report on compliance in the Washdyke area and a brief summary of active consents. He explained the type of operations and methods of monitoring and reporting, and gave examples. Of the monitoring undertaken, discharge to air and stormwater are the two main issues. The Committee noted several enhancement initiatives being undertaken in the area – the Washdyke lagoon, the proposed new wetland south and east of the Timaru District Council wastewater treatment plant and the drain that runs alongside the beach which is an old piece of the Opihi lagoon. Proposed Evan Williams Seconded David Caygill “That the report be received and noted.” MOTION CARRIED 7 PREPARATION OF ZONE COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT The Zone Committee is required to prepare an annual report to the District and Regional Councils. Committee members worked on key issues for inclusion in the report. Some of the items identified include: – the need to keep people engaged in the collaborative process – need an accurate measurement of success (need a true measurement of biodiversity in our zone, where we are losing ground and how to measure that) – building and increasing the environment’s resilience over time – finding a balance between increasing productivity and improving water quality 2 November 2015 Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone #961964 3 Management Committee – achievement of establishing catchment groups – achievement of engaging with industry groups – one of the challenges will be the subregional process – ensuring people higher up take notice – need to use the time we have left efficiently. A draft of the annual report will be prepared and circulated for comment before being finalised. Clr Lyon retired from the meeting. 8 TECHNICAL WORKSTREAM UPDATE Dan Clark provided an update on recent technical work in the zone and tabled a flowchart of the subregional process over the next two years. Progress has been made on the modelling of the Orari-Rangitata and Inland Basins (Upper Opihi, Opuha, Ashwick Flat) for groundwater and surface water models. The current understanding of the Pareora ground water zone is nearly complete, there has been progress made on the current state of the Orari system. The groundwater quality survey has been completed, which will be reported on shortly, and another report on the Rangitata groundwater is in draft form. Cultural assessments are progressing. The Pareora Catchment is now going to be included as there are sufficient resources, which will mean the entire zone is covered. 9 REGIONAL COMMITTEE REPORT The Chairperson reported on regional activity since the last meeting regarding infrastructure, biodiversity/ecosystems, land use and water quality, stormwater and Land and Water Plan plan changes. Proposed John Talbot Seconded David Caygill “That the report be received and noted.” MOTION CARRIED 10 RESTORING HARTS CREEK The Committee watched a short film of a successful restoration project at Harts Creek, Lake Ellesmere. 11 PUBLIC FORUM Brian Clearwater Brian Clearwater, a Fonterra shareholder and organic dairy farmer spoke to the committee saying that he believes nutrient controls on farms could create environmental problems ie requiring farmers to store effluent, greenhouse gas and methane emissions are significant, and therefore while trying to control one problem, another is created. The Dairy Industry Restructuring Act is now up for review and this could be an opportunity. Farmers need to be incentivised to just grow mixed pasture with no other inputs and with smart management, nitrate losses could be reduced by 50% and greenhouse gas emissions could be halved. If farmers can get it right, they can be carbon positive. This would provide a marketing opportunity by being able to differentiate our product in the larger market. 2 November 2015 Orari-Opihi-Pareora Zone #961964 4 Management Committee He indicated his interest in being further involved in the zone committee’s work. The Chairperson explained the committee refreshment process and the opportunity to be on a catchment group. Jan Finlayson Jan Finlayson sought clarification on the purpose of the progress report on the Canterbury Water Management Strategy Targets, published in June 2015, as to whether the report was an audit and whether it refers back to the original water management targets. David Caygill confirmed that the report is a progress report not a report for any type of audit purpose, however it does report against the CWMS targets which feature in the foreword of the document. Jan raised the issue of new and emerging water pollutants (other than nitrogen) arising from agriculture and referred to work done in the United Kingdom which could be of value here. She also sought information on what it is costing to fix problems such as those at Lake Ellesmere, making reference to the $200m included in the Selwyn Waihora ZIP addendum.