Water monitoring proposal applauded

Marc Schallenberg.
Dr Marc Schallenberg
An indication the regional council will spend more than $37 million significantly increasing water monitoring in Otago shows a positive change in direction for the organisation, a University of Otago water scientist says.

A Otago Regional Council hearings panel has recommended as part of its long-term plan that the council increase the number of water monitoring sites in the region from 65 to 90.

This will need to be ratified by the full council.

The initial council recommendation was an increase to 75, which was to cost about $36.7 million over 10 years.

The 90 option would increase this by about $500,000 over that period, although the cost was yet to be finalised.

The council spent $2.3 million on water monitoring in 2017-18.

Otago University freshwater ecologist Dr Marc Schallenberg said the recommendation showed the regional council improving its work in cleaning up Otago's waterways.

''I've been pushing quite hard in the past for better monitoring and the proposal to improve it is evidence that they are interested in doing a better job than they have done in the past.''

While an increase to 90 sites was positive, the region could probably use even more considering its size, he said.

''But there's obviously a trade-off between cost and what you get from extra sites. I don't have evidence-based feelings for what the right number is.''

Monitoring was ''incredibly important'' in cleaning up rivers and lakes, he said.

''I think many people are realising how important it is. You don't want things to degrade to the point where you start having to invest huge amounts of money in restoration.

''Quite often trying to get your water back to an acceptable standard is extremely expensive. Much more expensive than the profit that might have been made degrading the water.''

Most people felt water monitoring was a ''pretty good use'' of ratepayer money, he said.

Hearings committee chairman Doug Brown said advice from directors was it would ''definitely'' be worth installing the extra sites.

The decision was also influenced by the number of submissions requesting better water quality, he said.

Of submitters to the long-term plan, 142 wanted an increase to 90 sites, 162 wanted an increase to 75 and 61 wanted the number to remain at 65.

Cr Brown agreed the council was trying to get on top of water quality issues, but some of this drive was also required by new national standards.

The proposal includes introducing monitoring buoys in Lakes Hayes, Wanaka and Wakatipu and starting boat-based monitoring in those lakes as well as Lake Hawea.

jono.edwards@odt.co.nz

 

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