Water management strategies for the Cardrona River catchment were presented to the community last week as part of a consultative process which has been under way for several years.
About 50 people attended a water management workshop in Wanaka, the third in a series hosted by the Otago Regional Council.
Previous workshops were held in June 2010 and February last year, to discuss hydrological and ecological characteristics of the Cardrona River catchment and the community's aspirations for the management of its water resources.
At last week's workshop, ORC water scientists presented several minimum flow options and allocation regimes for the Cardrona River and Wanaka basin - including the Cardrona gravel aquifer - and called for feedback on the proposals.
The minimum flow restricts when water can be taken from a catchment under low flow conditions.
Consideration was also given to the impact of the options and regimes on Cardrona river flows and aquifer levels, various uses of water such as irrigation, domestic supply and stock, community values and activities such as tourism, recreation and aesthetics, and in-stream and wider ecosystem values.
Feedback will be gathered by June 30, after which the ORC will return to Wanaka to hold a fourth and final workshop.
