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Bay Buzz editor and local water guru, Tom Belford
Bay Buzz editor Tom Belford, Hawkes Bay’s foremost commentator on water issues, explores the various policy decisions facing the HB Regional Council, here. A particular focus – shared by Wise Water Use – is the government’s requirement that water be allocated and used efficiently, and that all existing over-allocation is phased out, these requirements under the ‘National Policy Statement – Freshwater Management 2020’ (NPS-FM). An in-depth analysis from Belford, well worth the read.
Crucial in deciding how to allocate water is HB Regional Council’s ‘Regional Water Assessment’ Report, which has been 2 years in the making; however, to date only an ‘interim report’ has surfaced. Wise Water Use have requested and been denied a copy of this interim report from Tom Skerman (Director, Regional Water Security Programme).
However, the report has been ‘leaked’ to a select few, including CHB Mayor Alex Walker who lost no time in publicly citing one of the worst case scenarios, likely to garner support from those who, as Belford puts it, are keen to “get out those excavators and start building mega-dams!”
However, Belford – clearly also privy to the report – cites an opposite finding which has yet to make it into mainstream local media, namely that local water demand might only increase by 1% by 2040, and decrease by 3% by 2060!
How might Regional Council incentivise more efficient water use (i.e. decrease demand) to achieve this scenario? Wise Water Use are currently lobbying for a review and reallocation of large water consents based on most sustainable land use.
In CHB 10 farms (most of them dairy operations) are allocated 59% of groundwater (i.e. Ruataniwha aquifer), and 67% of surface water (i.e. rivers). These allocations to intensive farming enterprises both misuses our precious resource, and is plain unfair to other farmers who are missing out and could be pursuing more sustainable farming practices.
Suggestions to curb water demand are posted on this web site, and include land use change (i.e. growing more sustainable crops), buying out intensive dairy units on the Ruataniwha Plains, improving soil heath to increase water retention, regenerative farming, and restoring natural wetlands.
Belford goes on to explore the numerous policy and planning initiatives currently underway: the TANK Plan (Tūtaekuri, Ahuriri, Ngaruroro & Karamū catchments), the Water Conservation Order for the Ngaruroro River, Regional Council’s pending Kotahi Plan, CHB water storage investigations underway (i.e. Ruataniwha v.2, Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR), Tranche 2), and investigations into storage on the Heretaunga Plains (i.e. raising the height of the Glazebrook dam, small scale off-river dams).
Belford closes in frustration, highlighting the fact that many of our community’s most urgent and strategic water decisions are being delegated to “non-elected surrogates – to faceless commissioners and even more faceless outside planning consultants”. He labels this a dereliction of duty on the part of our elected councillors.
Great point, Tom – perhaps it is the mechanisms of our local democracy that needs addressing first, before making major decisions about water use that will affect generations of rangatahi!
Trevor Le Lievre
(Spokesperson, Wise Water Use)
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