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Submissions needed to protected Hurunui

Submitted by jonathan on Wed, 2011-11-30 18:58.

The Hurunui River needs you to make yet another submission. We are making progress to protect this river - and we need you to write another few sentences to help us. Submissions close by 4.30pm on the 2 December 2011. Email to mailroom@ecan.govt.nz. Please forward this to those you know who paddle the Hurunui.

Submission Guide: Proposed Hurunui and Waiau River Regional Plan

Public input is sought on the Plan, which is the result of collaboration under the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS). This process has found some common ground between developers and conservation interests. The Hurunui/Waiau Zone Committee reached a consensus, taking responsibility for conflicting aims. Much of what concerns us was added to the document, after Zone Committee signoff, to further agribusiness intensification.

Key documents:
Proposed Hurunui Waiau Regional Plan (PDF, 8.21MB)
Submission Form (PDF, 53KB)

There are two issues of concern:

Division of the catchment into three zones (Pages 14, 15, Policy 6.1 through 6.3)

  • Zone A (High Value Area) where damming is prohibited in the upper Waiau.
  • Zone B (Infrastructure Development Area) where damming is a permitted activity (foothills and developed land of Hurunui / Waiau basin).
  • Zone C Areas not identified as High Value or Infrastructure Development) where damming maybe considered (Hurunui Catchment, above and inclusive of the Mandamus).

Submit that the creation of Zone C is NOT consistent with the statement and intent of the over arching, now operative Canterbury Resources Regional Plan. The upper catchment of the Hurunui has very high natural values, worthy of a high level of protection (NRRP: Chapter 5), matching or exceeding those already placed in Zone A.

It appears that Zone C has been created purely to satisfy private commercial interests.

Recommend you say:
That the upper Hurunui (Lake Sumner to Mandamus) is of outstanding value to kayaking, and should be classified as Zone A.

Request that no C block water be allocated until Ecan figures out what the C Block should be. We believe large-scale irrigation development could proceed without C block water anyway.

Cumulative Effects of Land Use on Water Quality (Page 14, Policy 5.3 (b) (ii) and Page 24, Rules 10.1 to 11.2)

This Policy and Rules in the Plan state that dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen in the Hurunui River prior to 2017, does not increase more than 20% above 2005– 2010 levels. Following the final agreement by the Zone Committee in August, it was determined to regulate to restrict the burden of run-off nutrient in the river. Subsequent to signing off, there have been multiple attempts by farming interests to raise this limit. Currently the above wording within the planning document allows for a lift in Nitrogen until 2017 to 120% of status quo.

Policy 5.3 (b) (ii) permits an increase of nitrogen pollution in the Hurunui River. There is no convincing mechanism by which the limits will be hauled back by 2017 once the 'horse has bolted'. It is vital we oppose the inclusion of Policy 5.3 (b) (ii) in the Plan, which allows the limit of dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen in the Hurunui River to increase by up to 20% above 2005-2010 levels.

Recommend you say:
Request that there should be no increase in nitrogen levels in the Hurunui River and that water quality should be maintained and enhanced.