The Hurunui-Waiau Zone Committee will meet on 20 February in Culverden for its first monthly public meeting in 2012.

At the meeting the committee will meet with members of Waitohi Selection Panel to discuss its recommendations. In late January the panel released its report which found a storage scheme in the Waitohi is likely to be affordable. The Hurunui Water Project’s proposal was endorsed as the preferred option.
 
Andrew Parish, Environment Canterbury Principal Planner, will then provide a summary of submissions on the proposed Hurunui Waiau Regional Plan. The submission period ran from October to December 2011.
 
Next the committee will receive an outline of proposed Land and Water Regional Plan to be publicly notified in July 2012. This Plan will replace parts of the Natural Resources Regional Plan (NRRP) relating to water quality and quantity, the beds of lakes and rivers, wetlands and soil conservation.
 
The committee will then be updated on Meridian Energy’s Amuri Integrated Water Project, the Hurunui Water Project, Land Use and Water Quality implementation, and toxic algal blooms in the zone.
 
The committee will also discuss its approach to the issues facing the Waipara River and will finish the meeting by considering the preparation of a Canterbury Water educational supplement for the zone.
 
The Hurunui-Waiau Zone Committee was formed in mid-2010 to develop a programme of water management recommendations for the district. Since then the committee has attended countless meetings, engaged with numerous stakeholders and community groups, and listened to presentations from experts.
 
The culmination of the committee’s first 18 months of work was the presentation of the committee’s Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP) to Environment Canterbury and Hurunui District Council in August 2011. The proposed Hurunui Waiau Regional Plan gives effect to many of the recommendations in the ZIP.
 
The Hurunui-Waiau Zone Committee includes seven community members, two Rūnanga representatives, and one each from Hurunui District Council and Environment Canterbury. The zone extends from north of the Ashley River to north of the Conway River and takes in Hanmer Springs, Waiau, Cheviot, Culverden, Hawarden, Waikari, Waipara and Amberley.
 
Agendas and minutes for each zone committee meeting can be found at www.ecan.govt.nz/canterburywater. Committee meetings are open to the public.    

Meeting information

Hurunui-Waiau Zone Committee meeting
Monday, 20 February, at 2.00 pm
The St John’s Rooms, 23 Montrose Avenue, Culverden

Read the agenda.