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Welcome rain After more than 30 days without rain, 25.6mm of rainfall was recorded by the Met Service at Wanaka Airport on Sunday. The Matukituki River rose to 110 cumecs on Monday before receding to 44 cumecs yesterday while the Clutha River has risen more than 20 cumecs since the weekend. The Minarets (pictured) also received a light dusting of snow during the downpour.
Siren suggested page 3
Blooms and buttonholes page 4
photo: wanaka.tv
New water regulations imminent Tim Brewster
Owner finds long lost cat page 5
The mighty white cabbage butterfly page 7
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A change in regulations governing the quality of water leaving property is on the agenda for the Otago Regional Council meeting at the end of this month. Once the regulations are approved, landowners will have until March 31, 2017 to adhere to the recommended discharge limits for the amount of ammoniacal nitrogen (NH), dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) and E.coli. They have until March 31, 2019 to limit the amount of nitrite nitrate nitrogen(NNN). The regulations could mean a big shift away from the resource consent process for different land uses, according to a report from ORC water scientist Rachel Ozanne and will reduce consenting and monitoring costs “[The proposed] Plan Change 6A does not control land use.
It controls the quality of water leaving a property, be that into groundwater, or a river, lake or wetland. This approach leaves landholders free to undertake whatevermeasurestheychoose,” Director Policy and Resource Planning at the ORC Fraser
the majority of damage to lakes and waterways in rural areas due to nutrient runoff, leaching and effluent entering the water. However the concentrations at which nitrogen or phosphorus begin to have an adverse effect on ecosystem health or amenity
Structure and Camphill Bridge on the Hawea River. It was acknowledged at the seminar there was very little information on the effect contaminants currently have on the quality of Lake Wanaka. Guidelines proposed for
The buoy would provide long term monitoring of data below the surface of the lake, without it we have to rely on anecdotal evidence. McRae said. In a presentation by Rachel at a seminar hosted by the Guardians of Lake Wanaka last week, data gathered from 2006 to 2010 showed lakes Wanaka and Hawea are currently below most of the proposed Plan Change 6A limits for water quality. The standards are based around the amounts of NNN, NH, DRP and E.Coli.Thefourcontaminantsare considered to be responsible for
values are highly site and catchment specific. Factors such as speed of outflow from the lake or down the river, sandy or pebbled river beds and whether the stream or river discharges into a lake or estuary can all affect the amount of long-term contamination. Lake Wanaka is currently monitored at the Outlet and West Wanaka Bridge, with Lake Hawea monitored at the Control
landownersarethatdischargesare not permitted if they produce an objectionableodour,conspicuous oil or grease film, scum or foam, beitfromananimalwastesystem, silage storage or composting process (including to saturated land and ponding), or contain sediment from disturbed land such as ploughed fields. Both Guardians of the Lake and the Wanaka Residents Associationhavelobbiedstrongly
forapermanentwatermonitoring buoy costing between $65,000 and $70,000 such as the one installed in Lake Taupo in 2008. The Taupo buoy has a number of sensors on it which record data at different depths about light, temperature, turbidity, conductivity and chlorophyll levels in the lake. The data, which are collected and transmitted to a shore station every ten minutes, provides NIWA with information about the current state of the lake’s water quality. “The buoy would provide long-term monitoring of data below the surface of the lake; without it we have to rely on anecdotal evidence,” Guardian’s chairperson Helen Tait said. “The seminar has highlighted the importanceoftakingactionwhile we still have a comparatively healthy lake, not waiting until deterioration has occurred.” A recent application for funding was rejected by the Central Lakes Trust.