On-Stream
Like us, your summer holiday might already be a distant memory as you gear up and set goals for 2018.
It's going to be a busy year at ORC and we have hit the ground running. Here are a few of the things on our radar over the new few months:
- We'll be at Southern Field Days in Waimumu in February, so make sure you come and say hi at site 534 if you're heading along.
- Our Long Term Plan is being developed, and we'd love your feedback when it's open for submissions in April (keep an eye on our website and Facebook page)
- Awards season is around the corner, with ORC sponsoring awards at both the Ballance Farm Environment Awards and the Southern Wood Council Forestry Awards
- Our new chief executive, Sarah Gardner, starts later this month and we're looking forward to meeting her
Summer means even more talk about the weather than we usually do. It's been a dry season right across Otago, so we encourage you to put your dancing shoes on and do a rain dance.
Our hydro team has ramped up their regular monitoring of water levels so we have our finger on the pulse. A number of our rivers are at, or close to, minimum flow levels. Keep an eye on what's happening in your area by checking the water flow information on our website. You can find the links in the In Brief section below.
All the best for 2018
The ORC team
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Feature: Check, Clean, Dry
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If you're on or in the water over summer, we encourage you to Check, Clean, Dry your gear to prevent the spread of freshwater pests such as didymo and lake snow.
We've had people out and about at popular spots around Central Otago over summer to hand out information about how to check and clean their gear. We'll also be at multi-sport events to help competitors clean their wetsuits and other equipment.
Did you know that dogs can spread freshwater pests from one waterway to another? Look at the Check, Clean, Dry website for information and to watch a video about how to clean your gear. |
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| Updates from your liaison specialists |
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Bruce Monaghan - Central Otago
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| Fish and flow data for deemed permit replacements
When replacing deemed permits with water permits, quality fish and flow data is needed. The data helps the discussions with affected parties such as iwi, DOC, and Fish and Game, leading to agreement on residual flow levels for the consent.
ORC has recently agreed to contribute to the funding of fish surveys for waterways where there is a gap in the fish data. This will help to speed up the deemed permit replacement process, and also make it easier for those applying for water permits to get the information they need.
We'll be holding presentations throughout February, March and April to discuss this in more detail, and will let you know meeting details when they have been finalised.
We're also adding a new function to the Fish and Flow portal soon, which will allow you to request flow data for your area. This will include the mean annual low flow (MALF). Keep an eye out for the 'Request for flow data' button.
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If you didn’t manage to get away over the holiday period, you are not alone! Neither did I, but my exterior windows at home are freshly-painted and looking pretty.
We have a new team member covering South Otago while Bex is on maternity leave, but until she starts please contact me if you have any enquiries in this area.
I'm adding a new project to my current work of deemed permits in the Strath Taieri area and water quality work around Dunedin and the Taieri, and I'm pretty excited to get it started.
I'll be working with the community to develop a vision, goals and actions to shape the future of the Tomahawk Lagoon and Lake Tuakitoto. We'll be holding workshops in late February for the Tomahawk Lagoon and in March for Lake Tuakitoto so keep an eye out for details.
I'll be on our stand at the Southern Field Days in February, so make sure you drop by and try some wallaby 'poo', a potential new culinary hero for all you foodies.
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Rebecca Begg is on maternity leave and her replacement has just started, so we'll give Chantal time to get her feet under the desk and will introduce her in the February issue of On-Stream.
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2018 is upon us! Things are pretty dry out there as the scorching summer continues – hopefully we’ll get some good rain over the next few weeks. A big thank you to all the landowners who are managing their water takes to ensure minimum flows aren’t breached in Otago’s rivers.
It is shaping up to be a big year in North Otago for ORC in the science, policy and education realms. We will be working with NOSLaM and North Otago Irrigation Company (NOIC) to educate and support landowners in the Waiareka, Kakanui and Awamoko catchments with on-farm water quality initiatives.
We will also be winding up the science project on the Nitrogen Sensitive Zone alongside the lower Kakanui River, and embarking on developing a plan change for that area. Ditto for the Lower Waitaki Plains, where our science team has been looking closely at the Lower Waitaki Aquifer.
We will also be in the Shag/Waihemo catchment supporting the new Shag River Catchment Group, piloting our on-farm risk assessment programme, and continuing our science work on the Nitrogen Sensitive Zone alongside the lower Shag River.
I encourage anyone and everyone to jump on board with a local catchment group – it is the way of the future and a great way to learn and share the load of understanding your environment. If you wish to know more about any of the above projects or groups, please do not hesitate to drop me a line.
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Southern Field Days
It's the first time we have a stand at this event, and we'll be promoting Check, Clean, Dry, wallabies, deemed permits and water quality. Come and have a chat with our friendly staff, and to take a photo like no other (yes, that's a deliberate tease to encourage you to come to our stand at site 534 - you can also taste wallaby 'poo'). |
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Some rain would be nice!
Go to our website for:
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Is is safe to swim?
Check out the LAWA website to find out what the water quality is like at Otago's popular swimming spots.
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What's coming up?
For a full list of events click here.
February
- 14-16 Southern Field Days, Waimumu, Site 534
- TBC Draft Air Quality Strategy public consultation
- TBC Tomahawk Lagoon community vision workshop |
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| The summer issue of ORC's newsletter 'Waterlines' is out now. You can read it here. |
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| If you know someone who should subscribe to On-Stream, forward this email to them and suggest they email us at water@orc.govt.nz to subscribe. |
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| Make sure you like the Otago Regional Council Facebook page - click the Facebook link below. |
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