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SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www. .kiwi<br />
Tuesday <strong>May</strong> 9 <strong>2017</strong> 5<br />
News<br />
Seminars planned to ease water tensions<br />
• By Georgia O’Connor-Harding<br />
A SERIES of seminars are<br />
planned to reduce tensions<br />
between Environment<br />
Canterbury and residents over<br />
how water issues in the <strong>Selwyn</strong>-<br />
Waihora catchment are managed.<br />
ECan’s chief scientist Tim<br />
Davie said the seminars will be<br />
held to provide residents information<br />
on the <strong>Selwyn</strong> River –<br />
the main community concerns.<br />
Tensions came to a head at the<br />
<strong>Selwyn</strong> Waihora Zone Committee<br />
meeting last Tuesday over<br />
democracy surrounding water<br />
issues and the effects of farming<br />
intensification.<br />
About 20 residents took a stand<br />
after zone committee chairman<br />
Allen Lim complained divisions<br />
between ECan were beginning<br />
to emerge following a “Talk for<br />
Water” meeting in March.<br />
Residents were at the meeting<br />
to support ECan councillor Lan<br />
Pham after she made comments<br />
at the March meeting the about<br />
the way water is managed.<br />
Cr Pham said while she did not<br />
want to comment on the letter,<br />
she supported the community.<br />
“I completely support both<br />
the community who came out<br />
in support of a democratic voice<br />
and environmental limits, and<br />
the zone committee who have<br />
worked tirelessly in their zone to<br />
make the best of a complex situation,”<br />
she said.<br />
After the meeting Mr Lim<br />
wrote a letter to ECan chairman<br />
David Bedford complaining<br />
councillors were not collaborating<br />
together.<br />
But Mr Lim said the letter was<br />
not aimed at Cr Pham.<br />
“It was about the way we work,<br />
collaborative process means everyone<br />
is getting together at the<br />
table to talk things through<br />
. . . if you have a stance where<br />
you are not willing to compromise<br />
it does not mesh with the<br />
collaborative process,” he said.<br />
In response to Mr Lim’s letter,<br />
Mr Bedford said while the evening<br />
was “unfortunate” but he had<br />
no doubt different views will be<br />
expressed by ECan councillors<br />
on occasion.<br />
At the meeting resident Mike<br />
Glover told Mr Lim he was “out<br />
of line” for complaining about Cr<br />
Pham and the zone committee is<br />
a democratic process.<br />
BACKED UP: A<br />
group of about<br />
20 residents<br />
attended<br />
the <strong>Selwyn</strong><br />
Waihora Zone<br />
Committee<br />
meeting to<br />
support ECan<br />
councillor<br />
Lan Pham for<br />
speaking out<br />
about how<br />
water issues<br />
are managed<br />
in the area.<br />
“We need to celebrate the fact<br />
that somebody elected is putting<br />
her hand up and saying “hey all<br />
is not well here,” he said.<br />
Key concerns raised were over<br />
the Central Plains Water scheme<br />
which could lead to intensification<br />
of agriculture and a higher<br />
nitrogen load going into Lake<br />
Ellesmere/Te Waihora.<br />
Before the 1940s it was<br />
estimated Lake Ellesmere/Te<br />
Waihora had about 800 tonnes<br />
reaching it per year.<br />
Mr Lim told <strong>Selwyn</strong> <strong>Times</strong> to<br />
achieve 800 tonnes farmers in the<br />
Lincoln and Rolleston townships<br />
would need to move off the land.<br />
“Eight-hundred tonnes was<br />
never going to be achievable.<br />
When people make it sound like<br />
it is achievable that kind of annoys<br />
me” he said.<br />
Mr Glover told the zone<br />
committee the nitrogen load<br />
going into the lake needs to be<br />
changed.<br />
Mr Lim said he understood<br />
Mr Glover’s concerns but a lot<br />
of work went into deciding the<br />
pollution limits for dairy farmers<br />
and this was the result.<br />
A limit has be set under <strong>Selwyn</strong><br />
Lake Ellesmere/Te Waihora<br />
plan (plan change one) for nitrogen<br />
coming from agricultural<br />
activities with dairying required<br />
to make a 30 per cent reduction.<br />
Mr Glover said he did not want<br />
to give the impression he was<br />
against dairy farming the community<br />
should not have to fork out for<br />
the mass pollution taking place.<br />
Dates and times for the seminars<br />
are yet to be confirmed.<br />
•HAVE YOUR SAY: What<br />
do you think Environment<br />
Canterbury needs to do to<br />
reduce the levels of nitrate<br />
going into Te Waihora?<br />
Email your views to georgia.<br />
oconnor@starmedia.kiwi<br />
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