Battle Lines Drawn Over Water Allocation Plans; HOT SCIENCE

By JENKINS, Bryan

In the last 10 years, demand for water in Canterbury has increased significantly, and rural and urban land use intensification have led to water quality concerns.

The following key drivers of change require increased attention in relation to water management:

* The desire for increased farm productivity from irrigation.

* The search for hydroelectric power as a source of renewable energy.

* Urban expansion including lifestyle block development.

* The recognition of the need to adapt to climate change and climate variability.

* The increased awareness of environmental values associated with water.

These factors are increasing the potential for conflict over water. Increased scarcity of water is creating competition between applicants for the remaining water. Reaching of sustainability limits for water extraction is creating conflict between applicants and the regional council when it is recommended that applications be declined. Effects of changes in water quality can place upstream land users at odds with downstream water users. Increase in water use reduces the reliability of supply to all users, pitting existing users against other users and new applicants.

The search for storage opportunities is creating conflict between storage proponents and those displaced and in-stream users.

The framework in which these conflicts are addressed is primarily the Resource Management Act (RMA). This provides the policy framework through the Regional Policy Statement, regional rules through the Natural Resources Regional Plan and for individual projects through the resource consent process. For ongoing management, the RMA provides for compliance and enforcement with consent conditions and for consent reviews where there are unanticipated consequences. In all conflicts the final arbiter is typically the Environment Court.

However, some limitations of the act are evident in dealing with the current conflicts in Canterbury. The current method for allocating water under the RMA is on the basis of first-come first- served. Where there is an unlimited supply of water, this generally works well. However, where water is in short supply, first-come first- served does not ensure that water goes to the most productive and sustainable use. Unlike the Local Government Act which is community- outcome driven, the RMA is applicant-driven, and is not designed to achieve the maximum community benefit from a scarce resource.

Consent conditions address specific effects of each project. However, as sustainability limits are reached, more serious, wide- ranging or long-term effects begin to be felt. Managing these cumulative effects requires a broader, catchment-wide approach.

The act was designed as enabling legislation. Based on recent court and hearing commissioner decisions, this is interpreted to mean that a resource is available until proven otherwise. With reduced water available, there is an increasing tendency for adversarial, court-based decision-making. Decisions on cumulative effects are based on legal principles of probative evidence rather than environmental decision-making principles of precautionary approaches and adaptive management.

So what is Environment Canterbury doing to address these limitations to ensure sustainability for existing users and the environment? We have introduced processes consistent with the Local Government Act to achieve community outcomes. This means adding the role of facilitator of sustainable development to our role of sustainable management regulator under the RMA.

This is happening at four geographical levels:

* The regional level, with the Canterbury Strategic Water Study involving multi- stakeholder collaboration.

* The catchment level, developing community-based plans.

* The stream reach, with Living Streams groups to address water quality and water user groups co-operatively managing extraction in rivers under pressure;

* The property level, working with landholders to adopt improved practices for water use efficiency and water quality management.

Managing an increasingly scarce resource creates huge potential for conflict. There are limitations in doing this within the RMA framework. Environment Canterbury is addressing deficiencies through these community-driven approaches, involving all the parties — landowners and farmers, conservationists and recreationalists, anglers, tangata whenua and all levels of government.

The aim is to achieve binding collaboration to resolve water management issues for the long term.

* Dr Bryan Jenkins is chief executive of Environment Canterbury.

.

Hot Science is a series of public seminars on some of the big issues facing Canterbury, as seen from a scientific perspective. The seminars, led by a panel of experts and chaired by broadcaster Kim Hill, are at the James Hay Theatre in the Christchurch Town Hall tonight and on the next two Mondays, from 7pm to 9pm. Entry is by gold coin donation. Tonight’s topic is water wars; next week is climate change; and the third and final seminar will be on food production.

(c) 2007 Press, The; Christchurch, New Zealand. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.