Selwyn Times: September 01, 2021

SELWYN RURAL LIFE
Wednesday September 1 2021 Selwyn Times 29
Heads-up for Selwyn high country
lake care
Moves to reduce nutrient loads in
Ashburton high country lakes “may be
needed” in Selwyn, a study of regional
water quality has found.
Five Selwyn lakes require moderate or
large nutrient load reductions to meet the
aim of the regional plan, says a science
report commissioned by Environment
Canterbury (ECan) and the Department of
Conservation.
Most of the high-country lakes named in
the report by Cawthron Institute by are in
Ashburton district but there’s also concern
about Selwyn lakes, particularly Lyndon,
Grasmere, Pearson, Sarah and Hawdon.
The report details the nutrient reductions
required to achieve water quality targets
set by the community in the Land and
Water Regional Plan (LWRP). The
conclusions from the Cawthron Institute
found that significant reductions in
nutrient loads will be required to preserve
water quality in the high-country lakes
studied.
The lakes are sensitive to nutrient inputs
from several sources, including land
use, recreation amenity and birdlife, the
report says. In a warning for Selwyn,
ECan says the report shows lake nutrient
load reductions were “not unique to the
Ashburton lakes/Ō Tū Wharekai and may
be needed in many high-country lakes
across Canterbury”.
ECan says several high-country lakes are
recognised as being ‘sensitive’, with specific
provisions in the Land and Water Regional
Plan (LWRP) included to protect them.
In addition to having high ecological
values these lakes are recognised in statute
as culturally significant historical food
gathering and mahinga kai sites.
In response to concerns at the state of
these lakes, three rūnanga – Te Runanga o
Arowhenua, Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga
and Te Taumutu Rūnanga – initiated
a working group in 2019 of statutory
agencies (Environment Canterbury, DOC,
Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New
Zealand, Ashburton District Council and
Fish & Game) along with local farmers and
other resource users to address this issue.
In late July, after reviewing the report,
the cross-sector working group discussed
several “new actions”, including the use of
catchment level information to develop
farm scale options, new requirements for
sewage systems at Lake Clearwater village,
including monitoring the effectiveness of
new systems, and more work to quantify
the impact of birdlife on various lakes.
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