Welcome to the August 2019 edition of On-Stream
This month find out about proposed changes to the rural water quality rules in our Water Plan, get an update on upcoming consultations in Manuherekia, Arrow and Cardrona, what to do if you see a rook, as well as what is happening in your part of our beautiful region.
|
|
Proposed rural water quality (6A) Water Plan changes You may have heard that we’re going to make some changes to the rural water quality rules in the water plan. We’ve listened to the feedback we’ve had from the rural community and also from ORC team members, and last week a staff recommendation was passed at our council meeting. This will include a plan change to extend the deadline for the rules that relate to contaminant thresholds in water discharges and the Overseer nitrogen leaching limit that would otherwise have taken effect on 1 April. Then in March 2020, we will notify a second plan change which will establish strong, clear, enforceable rules. Click here to find out more, and if you have any queries please speak with Bex, Bruce, Nicole or Jason in the Rural Liaison Team.
|
|
|
Update on Manuherekia Rohe water plan change
If you live or work in the Manuherekia River area, we invite you to take part in discussions about what you value about the river and how you want to see it managed in the future. A lot of work was done on values a few years ago, so we want to check if these still hold true for you and whether you have any others to add. You can take part online, in person at meetings, by returning the tear-off slip of the brochure you'll receive in your letterbox, or by emailing us. Find out more here. |
|
|
Update on Arrow and Cardrona water plan changes
Thanks to everyone in the Arrow and Cardrona catchments who told us what they valued for these rivers earlier this year. ORC is continuing to gather information to help develop future river management scenarios, and we look forward to getting your feedback on these later this year. Find out more and see a summary of the values and future aspirations identified. |
|
|
Deemed permitsIf you have a deemed permit (also known as a historic water permit), you should have received a letter from us checking that we have your details correct, and checking whether you intend to apply for a resource consent to replace your deemed permit. If you have a deemed permit but haven’t received a letter, please call our consents team on 0800 474 082. Read more about deemed permits.
|
|
|
| Updates from your Rural Liaison Team |
|
|
It seems winter has waited until calving this year! It was a good time to hold a Women's Enviro Evening in Clinton though, and I had a great night with lots of interesting people and fantastic speakers. One of the presenters, Penny Clark-Hall, is preparing a blog post from each of the speakers to share for those folk who couldn’t make it. The first of the posts can be found here and features Janet Gregory from NZ Landcare Trust. You might be familiar with Janet from her work in the Pomahaka.
Many of you are getting through your winter crop paddocks, so now is the time to think about how to manage the next weeks or months of exposed soil before you get your subsequent crop or pasture in. It's important to reduce the risk of sediment run-off in overland flow, both to keep soil and nutrients in the paddock for you to use, and to keep it out of the waterways from a compliance perspective and for stream health. Last November's thunderstorms resulted in noticeable sediment further down the catchment and we want to avoid that happening again.
There are a few changes coming up to rural water quality rules, so if you have any questions about how this might affect you, please feel free to contact me or any of the Rural Liaison Team.
|
|
|
Beef + Lamb NZ received funds through MfE's Fresh Water Fund for catchments with water quality issues. One of the catchments to receive funding was Thomsons Creek, a tributary of the Manuherekia, so local Beef + Lamb NZ staff met with farmers earlier this month to discuss how best to use the funding.
To provide a snapshot of the catchment, ORC's Environmental Officer Mel Heather outlined water quality results for the past two seasons. These highlighted pockets of concern for various contaminants at different times. Landcare Trust's Craig Simpson, who works with farmers in the Pomahaka catchment in South Otago, outlined how farmers there had similar concerns and the progress that has been made. He stressed a vital ingredient to improve water quality is working as a group, a message that was conveyed collectively by the mix of presenters. Consultant Susie McKeague pointed out that the progress they made on water quality would help with the "take and use" part of resource consent applications for replacing deemed permits.
The group agreed to work on key steps towards best practice and water quality next, and I'll keep you updated as this progresses.
|
|
|
Entries for this year's Ballance Farm Environment Awards have opened. Have you ever been interested in benchmarking your farm business on a number of factors (e.g. production, health and safety, environment) and different industries or enterprises? Are you interested in promoting good farming stories? Would you like valuable feedback from a well-rounded judging team? If the answer is yes, then you may want to consider entering the awards (find out more here).
If you come across anyone who seems interested in entering, please encourage them to apply or to contact me – I can put them in touch with some key contacts. I was a first-time judge for the awards last year and will be on the judging panel again this year.
|
|
Well, winter has certainly hit! For a number of years ORC has been conducting aerial inspections of waterways to monitor compliance around water quality issues. This year's flights have started, but due to the weather, the North Otago flyovers haven't happened yet. Below are answers to questions I've been asked around what to expect:
What are you looking for? Ultimately, people doing things right. For example, industry and ORC have allocated many resources around winter grazing and what is accepted as good management practices. We've found a few areas that need further investigation, for example machinery working in a waterway.
Will you tell me when you are flying over? No, we do not have the resources to tell each individual land owner. We are also at the mercy of the weather and not always able to fly. Each year we do a press release to let the public know that these flights are coming up though.
What type of aircraft is used? We use a fixed-wing aircraft and any activity that appears out of the ordinary is photographed from a good height.
Will it spook my stock? No, the pilots have rules around levels they can and can’t fly at. I'm not aware of any complaints made to ORC about stock being spooked.
What happens if something is seen on my property? Will I get a chance to explain? If we feel something might be wrong, we'll look at the images in more detail and check against other records, for example, to see if there's a resource consent for the activity. If required, we'll do a follow up on the ground.
It's too early to say how we compare to previous years, but my advice is to never stop planning. Ask yourself "what areas of my farm concerned me the most this winter?" Put a plan together for that area now, so it’s not a worry next year. |
|
|
|
|
Rural burning
A reminder that if a controlled burn on your property causes a smoke nuisance to neighbours or road users, you are breaching the Regional Air Plan rules and could be fined. Your district or city council, Fire and Emergency NZ or Department of Conservation may also have rules or require additional fire permits, so check before you burn. |
|
|
ECO Fund changes
We've recently reviewed our ECO Fund after a great first year, and have made some changes to make it even better. One change is that funding rounds are now 1-20 October and 1-20 March. If you have a project in mind, check if it meets our revamped criteria, terms and conditions here. |
|
|
Rooks
A parliament of rooks (yes, that's what you call a group of rooks!) was spotted in the Maniototo recently. Rooks are a pest in Otago and the success of our control programme relies on rook sightings being reported. If you see rooks, do not shoot or disturb them as this can scatter them and encourage new colonies. Instead, call us on 0800 474 082. Find out more. |
|
|
What's coming up?
3 September - Restore Lake Hayes drop-ins. Find out more at the Facebook event page or here.
26-27 September - Manuherekia values consultation meetings.
12 October 2019 - ORC Election Day (voting closes at 12 noon). Read more.
For a full list of ORC meetings click here. |
|
|
Feel free to forward this email to anyone who might like to read it. If you have been forwarded this email and would like to subscribe, please email us at water@orc.govt.nz.
|
|
|
|
