Progress being made by a committee set up earlier this year to involve the community in water management in the upper Waitaki catchment is pleasing its chairman, Barry Shepherd.
The Upper Waitaki Zone Committee was established by Environment Canterbury and the Mackenzie and Waitaki District Councils under the Canterbury Water Management Strategy and is one of 10 in the Canterbury region.
It held its seventh meeting at Omarama on Thursday.
Since its formation in February, it has met six times to bring members up to speed on water issues in the region and also been on three field trips to visit sites of interest and talk to community members.
Mr Shepherd said the committee heard presentations on water quality and water infrastructure options at a recent meeting. It also had a workshop on water quality and review priority areas and criteria for immediate steps biodiversity projects.
"We are developing a good knowledge base of information about our region's water resource, and understanding how to meet the targets set out in the Canterbury Water Management Strategy," he said.
The committee expected to develop a zone implementation programme later this year; then it would ask the public for views on the priorities for water management in the upper Waitaki zone.
The committee operates as a joint committee of Environment Canterbury and the Waitaki and Mackenzie district councils.
It is charged with working collaboratively to develop an effective water implementation programme in consultation with the local community.
The programme includes strategies, tactics and activities to give effect to the Canterbury Water Management Strategy's principles and targets.
It covers the area from the headwaters of Lake Tekapo in the north, east to the Waitaki Dam, south to the Lindis Pass and takes in Lakes Tekapo, Pukaki, Ohau, Benmore and Aviemore, as well as the townships of Twizel, Otematata and Omarama.
