Water conservation orders have escaped the knife under the Government's freshwater reforms, to the relief of Fish and Game Otago and the disappointment of the Otago Regional Council.
The Government had planned to review the role of water conservation orders (WCO) in regional planning but Environment Minister Amy Adams and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy announced this week it would not go on with the review.
''We have listened to feedback from councils and communities and the concern about the impact such changes may have. While we continue to see value in all freshwater planning processes being aligned, we do not propose any changes to Water Conservation Orders at this time,'' they said.
Otago Fish and Game chief executive Niall Watson said the change was pleasing but not surprising, given the public concern about resource use on outstanding water bodies.
Regional plans did not provide for the sort of protection needed for those areas.
A local example was the successful campaign to get dams prohibited on the Nevis River under a WCO.
''The system works. Under the WCO system it's inevitable there is heavy public input.''
However, Otago Regional Council chairman Stephen Woodhead said he was disappointed by the decision, as WCOs were ''an outdated mechanism that has been superceded by the RMA (Resource Management Act)''.
The WCO decision was part of the ministers' announcement of the first stage of an action plan to improve water quality and the way freshwater was managed. It followed consultation on the freshwater reforms document in March.
It included a new collaborative planning option to give communities and iwi a greater say in the management of waterways in an effort to avoid legal action at a later stage.
''This means that rather than a council drafting a plan and then asking for comment, a representative group of stakeholders drawn from the community will be able to work together on a plan,'' the ministers said.
It also planned to improve iwi engagement and provide guidance to help support councils imple-ment the changes.
Other parts of the immediate steps for freshwater reform included the creation of a national objectives framework, a review of the water research strategy, the use of models for nutrient budgeting, and more work on the transfer and trade of water.
Mr Woodhead said it was pleasing the Government acknowledged improving the water management system would take time and it was going to work with and support regional councils to implement changes.
The council supported the inclusion of a collaborative process as it had been using that approach for years to set minimum flows and during plan changes, he said.
Getting the National Objectives Framework right was imperative, he said.
''ORC will welcome formal consultation on the details of the regulations that will be developed following the passing of the legislation. We are already in the position of having to implement the national policy statement on freshwater management and it is important that the changes are aligned with and support this work programme.''
A ministerial spokesman said announcements on the outcome of consultation on the Resource Management Act reforms would be released in the next few months.
