CFFC
proudly supports the Water Rights Trust,
an organisation dedicated to upholding the equitable rights of present
and future citizens to clean, viable waterways.
Contact
details for the Water Rights Trust:
P O Box 391, Christchurch
Ph: (03) 379 8909
Fax: (03)365 4494
Email: murrayr@rap.co.nz
Web: www.waterrightstrust.org.nz
The policies of the trust include:
1. Resource Development:
The Trust will support development of natural
resources for commercial return where it is proven that the activity is
environmentally sustainable; and that the activity does not infringe on
what we may judge as the reasonable rights of future generations. This
means:
- all consents to abstract water must take account of long term cumulative impacts, in conjunction with consents already issued and existing resource use in the catchment.
- no consent should be issued where environmental impacts and safety margins for the activity cannot be accurately assessed , monitored and enforced.
- consents to take from surface waters must take account of both minimum flow levels and flows needed to maintain the ecological health of the waterway.
- consents must take account of downstream impacts and require appropriate practices to ensure the entire water lifecycle is protected.
- water abstracted for commercial use should be metered and carry a levy to help ensure efficiency of resource use and to provide a fund for restoration, enhancement and maintenance of waterways and ongoing research.
- allocation of water for abstraction should be considered on a catchment basis to enable an holistic approach to impact on waterways
- communities should be educated and encouraged
to take responsibility for the health of their adjacent water-bodies.
The Trust intends to actively support such developments when it is in a
position to do so.
2. Regional Water Management Structure:
The Trust supports the spirit and intent of the
Resource Management Act (1991), but does not view implementation of the
Act as being successful under the current administration system. The
current administrators have taken the view of balancing increasing
economic demands with environmental considerations, thereby continuing
to run down the environment as economic demands increase. To ensure
that the economic and social aspirations of Cantabrians occur within a
sustainably managed environment:
- regional
prosperity should be sought from pursuing low
environmental-impact/high-skill areas such as our electronics sector
which would also build the infrastructure to employ more of our
tertiary educated young people.
- a
regional body, existing or new, must be charged with the legislative
mandate and resources to lead the preparation of a regional development
strategy to ensure long term regional prosperity within a healthy,
well- maintained environment. Such a body must ensure that the
resources of Ecan, NIWA, MfE, MAF Christchurch City Council and
territorial authorities are co-ordinated within the regional strategy.
This body may be disbanded after any necessary legislative changes have
been achieved.
- Ecan should continue to have its regional responsibilities for
implementing the RMA, but must be made accountable for its performance
in achieving the environmental aspirations of Cantabrians as intended
by the RMA to a separate organisation (MfE?) tasked with regularly
auditing Ecans performance in implementing the regional strategy.
- All consent applications to abstract water, and/or undertake
activities that have the potential to impact adversely should be put on
hold until the new administrative structures are in place and research
has been undertaken to enable proper risk assessment of existing and
proposed land-use and water-use activities.
3. Specific Projects:
- Central Plains Water: The Trust will support the
scheme only if there will be no risk of degradation to either surface
or ground-waters and their ecology arising from development of the
storage facility and subsequent use of water available from the
facility. This means that research is needed to ascertain what risks
may exist and how they can be avoided before the Trust can give support
to this or other like projects. The consent to build the dam and divert
water from the rivers must be accompanied by a general consent
application to use the water, specifying the conditions under which
right to use water will be granted.
- Hydro-electricity: The Trust supports conventional forms of
generation ahead of new hydro schemes. Other energy options should be
investigated now, rather than after having further depleted our river
resources.
- Hurunui River dam: The Trust does not support a dam on the main stem
of the Hurunui River, because of the reasons applying to Trusts
position on the other projects, and also because of the high
recreational value of the River in its present form.
- Diversion canal from Tekapo to South Canterbury lowlands: As for
Central Plains Water.
4. General:
- The Trust will remain non-aligned to any
political organisation, and focussed on water management within the
Canterbury region. The wider context of economic development options
for the region should be handled by a separate body.
- The Trust will provide all reasonable support to like organisations in other regions in sharing information
- The Trust will, where practical, work within the existing structures, co-operating with and influencing Ecan and MfE particularly and other local and central government entities, and will also act independently to achieve its ends.
- The Trust will achieve its ends by advocating to and engaging support from people of influence; and highlighting the issues to the general public to ensure political awareness as the prime lever for change.
- The Trust will ensure that its position on any issue is sound, technically and legally.
- The Trust will accept financial support from
all sources that do not threaten to compromise the Trusts standing on
the issue.
- The Trust will maintain the goodwill of supporters by regular
information exchange.
• WATER A KEY RESOURCE for current and future generations to satisfy the needs of industry, domestic uses and recreation, but surely most importantly for the water body to sustain itself.
• The basis of the initial minimum flows set in the 80’s was based on irrigation needs not ecology.
• The thinking that got us where we are today will not get us where we need to be tomorrow.
• THE CHALLENGE to our communities is NOT how we achieve the best result for either environmental or economic or cultural or recreation interests, but how as a community we can achieve a successful outcome for all for current and future generations.
HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE THIS?
• By adopting an overall catchment and sub-catchment strategy to:
• Firstly, set minimum flow regimes that mimic natural flow regimes for the main stem and its tributaries. These regimes set at levels to protect the in-stream, ecological and cultural values of the rivers and streams within the whole catchment. These must be set with a precautionary view in mind to take account of climate change. This will preserve the flora, fauna, native and exotic fish life cycles as well as protecting and enhancing habits for indigenous birds and must also allow for the cleaning out of invasive stream-bed vegetation and periphyton from the stream-bed substrate.
• The flow regime must preserve tangata whenua values of Mauri and Mahinga Kai.
• Actively pursue ways and means of sustainably diverting and storing flows from freshes and floods for a period AFTER they have done their cleansing and other environmental work.
• Ecan must manage any balance of water to ensure reliability of supply.
• WATER QUALITY, being improved and protected by using the latest in sound science and best management practices in:-
- Land management, marrying fertiliser and water application to plant and soil needs as well as riparian management.
- Sustainable irrigation design, delivery and management. Having measuring devices placed on all existing and future takes to better manage the resource. This will include efficient and effective fish screening at surface water takes.
- Setting up Water Users Groups.
If we can achieve all of the above as a Community, we should all benefit from a flourishing agricultural community with environmental and recreational requirements also being enhanced with plentiful, clean water for families to picnic, swim, kayak and to fish in.
Murray Lane, Trustee – Water Rights Trust