The imagination of an Oamaru group which brought the Steampunk phenomenon to Oamaru has won it the supreme award at this year's TrustPower Oamaru Community Awards.
Meridian Energy Ltd expects to reach agreement on conditions in resource consents for a new power scheme on the lower Waitaki River with parties who opposed it in the Environment Court.
23 rural water schemes in the Waitaki district are operating again after many were closed because of flooding last week.
The Waitaki District Council was given a clear direction yesterday to keep open the coastal road from Oamaru through Kakanui to Waianakarua, by finding innovative solutions to stop erosion by the sea.
Major irrigation companies on the lower Waitaki River have challenged an Environment Canterbury decision to grant water for a new irrigation scheme for Waimate which could cost up to $200 million to build.
A campaign to stop illegal dumping in the Waitaki district has already yielded one result, which is being investigated by the Waitaki District Council.
Network Waitaki has handed out more than $70,000 to 34 groups within the area served by its electricity lines network.
Gliding at Omarama is about to enter a new phase with two commercial companies combining after GlideOmarama's founder Gavin Wills bought Southern Soaring.
The declining water quality in North Otago rivers will come under scrutiny at an Otago Regional Council forum in Oamaru later this month.
Waitaki First has reached agreement with Meridian Energy Ltd over conditions on resource consents for a $1 billion power scheme the Government-owned company proposes to build on the lower Waitaki River.
Waitaki Boys' High School pupil Caleb Dudley, described as "a natural all-rounder", has won this year's TrustPower youth community spirit award.
Residents and ratepayers in the Ohau Village now have a combined voice after setting up a group.
Groups dithering about whether to enter a float in the Alexandra Blossom Festival's premier event are running out of excuses.
Consumers on three North Otago water schemes could have water again today as the Waitaki District Council continues to assess and repair widespread flood damage resulting from last week's torrential rain.
A solution is being sought to the increasing closure of State Highway 1 north of Oamaru because of what the New Zealand Transport Agency terms "an unacceptable flooding risk".
Heavy rain over the past two weeks has brought a silver lining for some North Otago farmers.
Slips and slumping have closed the Bushy Beach track, used by thousands of people each year to view yellow-eyed penguins nesting on the tip of Cape Wanbrow, above Oamaru.
An attempt to have the Waitaki District Council abandon plans to develop a 27-section subdivision on Cape Wanbrow has been thwarted temporarily by procedural difficulties.
The community is being asked to report people illegally dumping rubbish in a "Ditch Dirty Dumping" campaign launched recenty by the Waitaki District Council.
Omarama has cut its water use by about two-thirds - good news for the Waitaki Valley town that struggles to meet demand during dry summers.
Ahuriri Community Board chairman and Omarama businessman Craig Dawson suspected something was amiss with the town's excessive water consumption, so called in the Waitaki District Council to inspect the supply.
