February 2023

Kia ora readers, welcome to the first edition of Oranga Wai e-news for 2023.

Firstly, we want to acknowledge the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle. The images and stories show this is a large-scale event affecting people and property across the motu. In our region, Tararua and parts of Manawatū were hit especially hard. We hope you, your friends and family are holding up as well as possible. We have some welfare advice available via the Horizons website.

This e-news is a short and sweet update from us, including key information about regulatory advice post-cyclone, current freshwater engagement and upcoming intensive winter grazing workshops.

Regulatory advice

Cyclone Gabrielle

We have advice for those in areas severely impacted by the cyclone to help the primary sector get back on its feet.

Where infrastructure such as farm bridges and culverts have been damaged or destroyed, these can be replaced without the need for resource consent on the basis they are repaired on a like-for-like basis.

Stream culvert replacements should be done in a manner that provides for fish passage. People can contact our freshwater team on 0508 800 800 for assistance with culvert requirements.

If stock need to be buried, this should be done in areas away from waterways. We recognised that fences along waterways will be impacted and it will take time to reinstate these.

Where milk need to be disposed of to ensure animal welfare is maintained, it should be disposed of into the farm dairy effluent system and then discharged to land. Full or overflowing effluent systems can also be discharged to land.

You can find a printable PDF of the regulatory advice here. 

People who have river management related issues can email our dedicated inbox RMenquiries@horizons.govt.nz.

IWG workshops

We have teamed up with Beef and Lamb NZ to run four workshops to help farmers understand how to implement the new intensive winter grazing (IWG) rules and apply for consent. The new rules require farmers who cannot meet permitted activity rules to apply for consent for intensive winter grazing by May 2023.  Horizons staff will be on hand at the workshops so farmers will get a better idea of how the regulations will be implemented and provide advice on consent applications where required.

The workshops will be in Hunterville on 7 March, Ohakune on 8 March, Taihape on 14 March and Pahīatua on 15 March. The Pahīatua workshop may be called off as farmers there recover from the impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle.

You can register for the workshops via Beef and Lamb NZ’s website and find more information about the new regulations on Horizons’ website.

Have your say

Tell us your top spots this summer

A quick reminder that we’re wanting to know what your freshwater top spots are by the end of February to help inform policy changes to the One Plan.

We’re asking three things:

·       Where do you enjoy freshwater?

·       What water bodies do you think are outstanding?

·       Do you agree with the criteria to determine if a water body, such as a river or a lake, is outstanding?

The engagement is split into two parts - freshwater recreation and outstanding water bodies - and available online here. You can go through to either or both of the topics and fill out their accompanying surveys until 28 February 2023.

A quick behind the scenes update

Looking ahead, we are starting to prepare for our next round of engagement that looks at how water is allocated across the region. We anticipate doing this in April. We are also preparing for stakeholder engagement in the first quarter of this year to start discussions regarding long-term targets to improve water quality and freshwater environments. 

We signalled in our November edition that work was going into developing and collating an extensive amount of scientific information to provide context for updating the One Plan and further engagement in the second half of this year. This includes analysis of data collected through our water quality monitoring network and modelling to understand what might be required to improve our freshwater environments over time. Completing this work is integral to providing our communities with the information they need to make informed decisions during future engagement.