File photo by Jane Dawber.
In September 1860, the first public water pump was commissioned in Dunedin but it was not long afterwards that New Zealand's first major water supply project was initiated.
A proposal for a new council-controlled organisation (CCO) to run Dunedin's water assets has been roundly criticised by two city councillors.
A new committee which will help manage water in the lower Waitaki River catchment and Waimate district with input from the community was formally launched in Oamaru last night.
The incoming Central Otago District Council faces a tough decision at its first meeting: who should be responsible for water-metering policy and strategy - the council or its community boards?
A final decision on building a pipeline costing almost $600,000 to take Oamaru water to Weston consumers will be made by the Waitaki District Council at its meeting on Wednesday.
Canterbury farmers, and those in the Waitaki Valley, have been warned to check about water restrictions as the new irrigation season begins.
The proposed $200 million Hunter Downs irrigation scheme has received a $276,000 grant from the Government's newly expanded community irrigation fund.
Another community-based committee is being set up by Environment Canterbury to help it manage water resources in the Waitaki catchment.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) is moving to rein in a forecast $400 million debt by tackling the false perception of an "endless supply" of water thought to be held by many residents who live near lakes.
Six people have been appointed to a new committee meant to ensure the community has more input into the use of water in the lower Waitaki catchment and Waimate district.
A proposal by Otago Regional Council chief executive Graeme Martin on how the council could assist in funding bulk-water infrastructure in the region is to be developed.
Wanaka's water network is leaking at a rate of nearly twice the national average and running up a yearly bill estimated at more than $60,000 for the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
"Substantially" more water could be available for irrigation in the Tarras-Bendigo area than first thought, an Otago Regional Council study shows.
More local control over water in the lower Waitaki catchment is being welcomed by the Waitaki District Council, but it has some worries about how that will be managed.
A new and innovative way to manage water in the lower Waitaki catchment and Waimate district could be in operation by the end of the year under the Canterbury water management strategy.
United Water's contract with the Queenstown Lakes District Council to maintain and operate the district's water supply, waste water treatment and stormwater has been put up for assessment and re-negotiation.
A complaint over a conflict of interest forced Dunedin city councillor Dave Cull to quit this week's debate over illegal water connections.
The Dunedin City Council is to rewrite its water bylaw to tackle illegal connections to the city's water supply, and consider urging those taking water without paying to come forward.
23 rural water schemes in the Waitaki district are operating again after many were closed because of flooding last week.
Twelve resource consent applications to use water from the lower Waitaki River for irrigation have been granted by Environment Canterbury, including three for a new irrigation scheme in the drought-prone Waihao Downs area south of Waimate.
