Ashburton Guardian, Tuesday, April 23, 2019

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Tuesday, Apr 23, 2019

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River review ‘will not be easy’ By Linda Clarke

linda.c@theguardian.co.nz

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Environment Canterbury is about to begin a tricky review of irrigation consents connected to the Ashburton River. The review will look at surface and groundwater water-takes hydraulically linked to the river, which is over-allocated for irrigation abstraction. The Ashburton Water Zone Committee has been discussing the review and how it will engage with affected consent-holders and the wider community. Committee chairman Bill Thomas

said it was about creating a level playing field for abstractors with consent conditions fair to all and raising the minimum flow to improve the health of the river. It would be about balancing all the interests, he said. Farmers who used the water for irrigation and the wider community would be consulted. The water zone committee has asked ECan scientists for the latest science and water information relevant to the river and will be sharing that at public meetings, along with how the consent review would help improve the health of

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the river and what impact it might have on water users. The review consultation process was still in its planning stages, Thomas said. Mid Canterbury’s elected ECan councillor John Sunckell, who announced at the weekend he was standing for re-election this year, said the consent review would not be easy and may create some angst in the rural community.

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