Conservationists yesterday roundly disapproved of Otago Regional Council staff’s recommendation for a transition period of until 2040 before a minimum flow of 2500 litres per second was imposed on the river.
Farmers have said such a high minimum flow could devastate the community that relies on the Central Otago river’s water.
However, yesterday farming leaders reserved comment until after today’s meeting when councillors will be asked to note the policy direction for the river.
Staff have recommended an initial minimum flow in the lower catchment of 900 litres per second upon notification of the land and water plan next year.
That flow level would then be increased to 1200 litres per second by 2030, and finally to 2500 litres per second by 2040.
Central Otago Environmental Society secretary Matthew Soles said the council seemed set to do little about total abstraction.
And the 17-year window before real change was made followed what was already decades of overly intensive water use in the semi-arid dryland environment.
"This is not restoring the river’s ecological health as required by the [national environmental standards for freshwater] but is instead kicking the can down the road for aligning land use with the ecological capacity of the river."
Otago Fish & Game chief executive Ian Hadland said the council knew the Manuherikia was a stressed river and "this simply prolongs the agony".
"This transition should have started years ago.
"Two years ago, we asked the ORC to be brave for the sake of the river and this staff report falls substantially short of that.
"Is this what Te Mana o te Wai will look like?
"That’s nearly two decades to get the river back to the point where it is only just out of the ecological stress zone."
Further, he questioned why council staff "out of nowhere" included a requirement for fish barriers on tributaries before the minimum flow was raised beyond 1200 litres per second.
It amounted to "holding the river’s flow hostage over species interaction", he said.
Forest & Bird Otago-Southland regional conservation manager Chelsea McGaw said the organisation was disappointed to see a recommendation for essentially no change in flow until 2040.
Forest & Bird agreed with a staged approach to raising flow levels, but disagreed the recommended approach was for the river’s best ecological health.
It appeared instead the council had "softened" their recommendations in favour of the the third-order obligation of Te Mana o te Wai, people and communities economic wellbeing, she said.
Manuherikia Catchment Group interim chairman Andrew Paterson was overseas yesterday and unavailable for comment.
Previously he said minimum flows of 2500 litres per second levels would essentially cut the "lifeblood" from a community that depended on the river.
Mr Paterson’s predecessor Anna Gillespie declined to comment until after the meeting.
Federated Farmers Otago president Luke Kane said he understood members of the organisation planned to meet the council today and would comment in due course.
When the staff recommendations were made public on Monday, council chief executive Richard Saunders said the river needed time to adjust to new flows, as a significant increase would create ecological risks.
