Welcome to the November 2019 edition of On-Stream
We hope you are enjoying some calm (despite some weather up and downs) before the silly season gets going! This month we have news on the investigation into ORC's preparedness for the expiry of deemed permits, a reminder about boating good practice and safety ahead of the summer months, information about E.coli recently detected in some Otago water bores, and a roundup of what is happening in your area.
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Minister Parker's report on deemed permit investigation
Last week, we sent you a special edition of On-Stream about the Minister's report on the recommendations from Professor Skelton's investigation into ORC's preparedness to renew expiring deemed permits (historical water permits). At an extraordinary meeting yesterday, the council considered the recommendations and agreed on a way forward. Read the media release. The next step is to commence work on a new Water Permits plan change, to be notified in February 2020. Minister Parker recommended this plan change to enable the efficient processing of remaining water permit replacements while the full planning framework is put into place. You'll be able to have input into this proposed plan change in December, before it is taken to a Council workshop. Keep an eye out for the link in next month's On-Stream. |
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Bore headsORC recently issued an advisory about E. coli detection in some Otago bores. There’s no threat to human health as these particular bores are not used for drinking water, but it is a timely reminder to private bore owners to test your water and ensure your bore heads are secure from contaminants. Read the full advisory.
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| Updates from your Rural Liaison Team |
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This crazy spring weather is keeping us watching the weather forecasts down this way. If you're online and looking for information, check out the Land Air Water Aotearoa (LAWA) website for water quality information in your area. You can see the state of waterways, as well as 5- and 10-year trends for contaminants, depending on how long the sampling site has been running. The data comes from ORC monitoring, and raw data can also be accessed here.
The Pomahaka Water Care Group has set up a Best Practice Response Team to provide a farmer-to-farmer yarn about how to implement good management practice. More information on this initiative can be found here – if you see anything in the Pomahaka Catchment (including the Washpool and Waipahi catchments) that might not be in the best interests of the environment, please text or call the team on 027 POMAHAK (027 766 2425). It's important to note that this is NOT a compliance mechanism – just a way to initiate conversations and share information.
And finally, if you're keen to find out more about sustainable food production, future food and agritech, registrations are open for the Ag@Otago inaugural New Zealand Agriculture 2050 - Pathways of Innovation Symposium being held in Dunedin 8-9 December. This is targeted at farmers so check out the programme here.
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Next month, ORC will host a day in the Cardrona Valley for the Waterwise youth leadership programme, which is part of the Untouched World Charitable Trust. The programme offers 30 secondary and tertiary students the chance to have a week of experience-based learning and education on sustainable development in Otago.
This is the fifth year ORC will be involved, and the event will take place on 10 December, starting at the Crown Range summit and ending at Lake Wanaka. A key theme will be an appreciation of balancing the irrigation needs of farmers with the protection of Cardrona River natural and aquatic values.
We will also discuss deemed permit replacements, and the students will have the opportunity to carry out stream health assessments to look for macroinvertebrates. They'll also observe ORC staff electric fishing to highlight the diversity of species, and will visit the Mount Barker flow site to learn about the water monitoring we do and why.
During the day the group will also visit a local farmer, who will outline the challenges and rewards of farming within the Cardrona catchment and talk about ongoing management adjustments he makes to meet the objectives of the Resource Management Act.
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It was great to see catchment leaders from around Otago at the workshop this month. A massive thank you to Craig Simpson from NZ Landcare Trust for all the work he put into preparing and hosting this event, and for always being at the ready to support catchment groups.
The East Otago Beef and Lamb Farming for Profit group put on a great event earlier in the month called "Staying Positive – Changing Your Mindset in Uncertain Times". In particular it was good to hear from successful young Southland dairy farmer and creator of the Farm 4 Life education initiative, Tangaroa Walker. Tangaroa is collaborating with industry, regulators and businesses to educate and inform the public, successfully gaining attention within NZ and getting considerable international reach. We can all learn something from his ambition and positivity for the rural sector and how to successfully build social licence using a social media platform.
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What a busy month October was: MfE's “Essential Freshwater” submissions, our own submissions process for a change in date around some of the water quality rules in our water plan (proposed plan change 6AA), and an election. Congratulations and welcome on board to Councillor Kevin Malcolm, who'll be representing the Moeraki constituency.
With everything going on, please take a moment to consider yourself and your neighbours and how they are doing. It’s a time of big change and I know some people are finding it very difficult. I recently took advantage of B+LNZ's Staying Positive Seminar in Oamaru, which was really helpful.
I also want to do a little plug for Pat and Lindsay at Rural Support Trust. They do a great job helping in difficult times. For a confidential chat about you, your business, the weather, your finances, or if you have concerns about a neighbour, partner, friend, family member or worker, you can call them on 0800 787 254. Find out more here.
Finally, we recently launched our Good Water in Otago website, which has lots of useful information about water across Otago. North Otago has its own section so please visit the site and let us know what you think. |
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Heading out on your boat?
We all need to do our part to protect Otago waterways from harmful freshwater pests. Remember to always check, clean, dry if you’re moving between waterways. Didymo, lake snow and lagarosiphon are an issue for us here in Otago so keep an eye out and stop the spread. Click here for more information |
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Safer boating
If you’re planning on heading out on the water to enjoy the sunny days, remember to always wear a lifejacket, take two waterproof ways to communicate, avoid alcohol, check the marine forecast and be a responsible skipper! Most importantly make sure you’re familiar with Otago's Navigational Safety Bylaws. |
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What's coming up?
December
8-9 December: Ag@Otago inaugural New Zealand Agriculture 2050 - Pathways of Innovation Symposium. Being held in Dunedin. Details here
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