A dispute between the regional council and a group of Tarras farmers will be decided in an Environment Court hearing after they were unable to come to an agreement during mediation talks.
In September last year, the Lindis Catchment Group appealed the Otago Regional Council’s decision to restrict the summer flow of the Lindis River to 900 litres per second.
The minimum flow decision is one of many the council is making as it sets about trying to better manage water allocation across Otago. The two groups have been involved in the Environment Court mediation process since the start of the year but they have not been able to come to a resolution.
The appeal will go to an Environment Court hearing.
A spokeswoman for the Environment Court said a date would be set before the end of the year with the hearing held sometime in early 2018.
Lindis Catchment Group member Bruce Jolly said the farmers were frustrated the issue would be heard as that meant more uncertainty. It was always a possibility the appeal hearing would be needed but the cost of the process weighed on the minds of farmers involved, he said.
"It’s hard enough to plan ahead when you’ve got to get your water rights consents sorted for when they come up but it’s almost near impossible if you don’t know what the minimum flow will be."
Support for the farmers had come from around the Otago region, he said.
Mr Jolly said he did not think the Lindis decision would set a precedent for other areas such as the Manuherikia and the Cardrona catchments as each had different needs.
"Each allocation needs to be looked at scientifically from it’s own point of view so I wouldn’t say what we are doing here will set a precedent for the others."
Otago Regional Council spokesman Mark Peart said it would be inappropriate for the council to comment on the details of the mediation and appeal process as it was still before the court.
