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30 days ago

Ashburton council’s stockwater exit plan nears completion

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

Ashburton's shift away from delivering stockwater services to rural properties is not a closure process, a councillor says.

The district council plans to get out of the management of stockwater races to rural properties by June 30, 2027.

“That could involve some being shut or other entities taking them over," councillor Richard Wilson said

Wilson is the chairperson of the stockwater transition working group, which is charged with planning the exit and ensuring properties that require stockwater have alternative options for delivery.

There are already plenty of examples around the district of other entities running stockwater schemes, he said.

Wilson pointed to an example of how the transition can work, with the Acton Farmers Irrigation Company now managing the scheme and going through a transfer agreement proposal with the council.

The district is also covered by irrigation schemes, he said.

“Some properties have stockwater on one side of the road and irrigation on the other, so that irrigation infrastructure could be used to provide stockwater efficiently.

"We don't need both."

The group is finalising the exit transition plan to present to the council by the end of the year.

The plan will outline the process the council will take and how it will engage with stockwater customers, stakeholders and the wider community as it works towards an exit.

It will be an intake-by-intake approach, Wilson said.

There is the possibility that the council retain some races for the amenity and biodiversity value.

Races that provide critical stormwater function could be declared drains, Wilson said.

“We haven’t made any decisions yet as we need to get the plan in place first.”

The working group includes councillors Carolyn Cameron and Wilson, mayor Neil Brown, representatives from Federated Farmers, Environment Canterbury, Te Runanga o Arowhenua and a consultant.

The core membership will make recommendations to the council based on their expert advice and input from the wider working group that consists of other key stakeholders.

The group are set to meet again on December 5 to finalise the plan to go to the council for adoption on December 18.

Once a transition plan is in place, the working group will monitor the progress towards achieving the stockwater delivery exit by June 2027.

Council chief executive Hamish Riach said the workload pressures facing the council over the next two years may challenge the stockwater exit timeframe.

“The timetable is well understood, but there are a range of issues at play.

“We are doing everything we can to mitigate against slippage of time, but there are some key people with significant workloads in some key areas around water that are impacting on each other.”

Council is seeking to recruit experienced staff into the team, he said.

*LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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Worst Xmas ever?

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Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...

Share your Christmas mishaps below!

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13 days ago

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The Team from SPCA New Zealand

It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:

👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
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👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️

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5 days ago

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Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.

If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?

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Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
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1250 votes