Hearings will be held around Otago next week for the Otago Regional Council to consider submissions on its proposed changes around managing water allocation and use.
The council's Proposed Plan Change 1C (Water Allocation and Use) to the Regional Plan: Water seeks to add provisions to manage the taking of water, including encouraging collaborative approaches by water users, giving preference to local water sources for local users, amending provisions to limit water wastage and recognising when groundwater is closely connected to surface water.
Fifty-nine submissions and 16 further submissions have been received and 37 would present their submissions to the hearing panel of councillors Duncan Butcher, David Shepherd and Stephen Cairns at hearings in Dunedin (June 22 and July 1), Oamaru (June 26), Alexandra (June 29) and Cromwell (June 30).
One of the most significant changes proposed was to promote community management of Otago's water resources.
The council's staff report said the intent was that individual consent holders work together to maximise benefit from available water and share infrastructure where possible.
This policy has attracted 21 submissions and seven further submissions with five supporting its inclusion, nine seeking amendments and four opposing the delegation of authority for water management to water management groups.
There was nothing in the policy to suggest it was mandatory, and because shared use and management was not compulsory, it was recognised in some instances individual takes might be the only or most appropriate option, the report said.
