An Otago regional councillor is worried its new approach to dealing with pollution in run-off from land may be like deciding to go to Mars while lacking the rocket required to get there.
Cr Bryan Scott raised his concern as the council investigated ways to tackle the problem of polluted waterways by seeking to control the quality of discharge from land instead of the way the land is being used.
The approach could make land use, such as farming, a permitted activity subject to contaminant discharge standards.
While there was scientific knowledge for the approach, its application was not - a situation Cr Michael Deaker said had a "doughnut look" about it.
But finding ways to fill the hole should not be difficult in a city with a university well known for its research, he said.
Cr Scott said he was worried the report, presented at yesterday's policy and resource planning committee, would "gather dust" while the tools required for the approach were sought.
"It's a bit like saying we are going to Mars, but what we need is the rocket to get there. How long are we going to wait for the rocket?" he said.
Chairman Stephen Cairns warned the council would be criticised for this approach because it was so different.
He believed it was vital the council did not wait two or three years for the right tools.
The council was committed to the approach and would make resources available to pursue the new approach, he said.
Cr Gretchen Robertson said it was important to signal to the community what was coming, just as the council had done with the implementation of the national environmental standard for air quality.
Cr Stephen Woodhead said it would be easy for the council to go down the prescriptive path, but it had decided that was not appropriate.
"This approach needs careful explanation and repeat explanations to the wider community - not just for farmers, but for all land use."
The council plans to begin public consultation on the approach before June next year.
Cr Gerry Eckhoff said most people in rural New Zealand believed pollution of waterways was a management issue, not a land use one, but he was concerned "how high the bar might be raised".
Resource planning director Fraser McRae said the bar would be raised to swimmable water quality, which would result in changes to existing practice.
