A minimum flow for the Clutha River will still be established, but the timeframe of the process is still unknown, Otago Regional Council (ORC) senior policy analyst Lisa Hawkins has confirmed.
The ORC started public consultation about the Clutha minimum flow last November, although some Central Otago water users said the process was rushed and unnecessary, and a Clutha River minimum flow should not be started while similar processes were still under way for rivers in other catchments.
ORC senior policy analyst Tom De Pelsemaeker said in January minimum flow plan changes for the Lindis, Cardrona, Manuherikia and Arrow catchments should be completed "well before decisions are made on minimum flows and allocation limits for the Clutha".
The ORC announced earlier this month that it had put back notification of the minimum flows plan change for the combined Cardrona, Manuherikia and Arrow catchments from August 31 this year to May 2019.
A proposed ORC plan change setting a minimum flow in the Lindis catchment was appealed by the Lindis Catchment Group, and will have an Environment Court hearing in November following unsuccessful mediation.
When asked if the delay to the notification of the Cardrona, Manuherikia and Arrow plan change would affect the timing of the Clutha River minimum flow process, Mrs Hawkins said the Cardrona, Manuherikia and Arrow plan change "remains council’s priority".
The ORC was preparing a "work plan" surrounding its requirements under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management to set allocation limits and minimum flows for rivers and streams, and allocation limits and minimum water levels for all other freshwater bodies (including lakes and aquifers).
This work plan would include the Clutha River, but no timeframe had been set, she said.
Public consultation with stakeholders and water users was held between November last year and February this year, and 88 written feedback forms were received, Mrs Hawkins said.
An ORC report summarising the feedback said most respondents recognised the importance of agriculture, viticulture and horticulture to the region’s economy, and said water bodies were integral to these.
In "most cases" irrigation was understood to be necessary, but some had concerns about the impacts of increasing agriculture and dairy farming and the increasing demand for irrigation water.
"Conversely, concerns were raised about the effects that water restrictions may have on horticulture and farming and therefore employment in the district."
Manuherikia farmer and former ORC councillor Gary Kelliher said his concerns about the "locking up" of the Clutha River through a minimum flow continued, and he hoped the ORC would delay the Clutha process while it was dealing with other catchments.
