Waiau River group keeps battling for the health of their river

Sunday, 14 February 2021

Waiau Rivercare Group members, from left, Grace Jordan, Claire Jordan, Eve Jordan, and Juanita Marshall. The group has concerns about what consent the Manapouri power scheme will get in Environment Southland’s Water and Land plan.

A debate is ongoing between Meridian Energy and a Southland environmental group about the type of consents the company should have to take water from the Waiau River to produce power.

The Waiau Rivercare Group want one of the consents Meridian Energy has to be discretionary meaning they would get input on some conditions.

The group has been public about the environmental impacts on the river.

Objectives of Environment Southland’s Water and Land Plan will become operative from March 1 after being finalised following a decision by the Environment Court.

Appeals on the remainder of the plan are progressing to mediation over the next few months.

* Southlanders determined to save their beloved Waiau River

* Waiau Rivercare Group keen to get erosion fund under way

Waiau Rivercare Group member Claire Jordan said the scheme’s water take was a controlled activity and the group hoped it would be changed to discretionary, which it had been in the past.

Under discretionary classification, consent would need to be applied for but the regional council did not have to grant it.

The group had concerns because the Manapōuri Power Scheme represents 70 per cent of the national surface water take and low river levels was making the river unswimmable with toxic algae blooms.

The scheme’s maximum water take was 550 cubic meters per second, equivalent to 550,000 litres.

There was a strong legal argument that being a controlled activity, the regional council would not be able to reduce the amount of water Meridian could take, Jordan said.

It wasn’t that the group was opposed to the scheme but as a discretionary consent it would enable the community to have a say on water take, she said.

A Meridian Energy spokesperson said the rule dealing with the activity status for re-consenting the Manapōuri Power Scheme was one of the many topics still subject to appeal in the Environment Court.

Meridian was seeking that the scheme stayed a controlled activity, the spokesperson said.

Having controlled activity status provided more certainty that the scheme would be there for generations to come, she said.

The original wording relating to the scheme in the council’s Water and Land Plan had caused a sticking point between Meridian Energy and the environmental group.

It was originally worded to recognise the national importance of the Manapōuri Power Scheme, in the Waiau catchment and any resulting effect in water flow and water level scheme.

Meridian wanted to include that the scheme’s activities be considered part of the existing environment, including water take, discharge and diversion of water.

It also wanted to add that the plan allows for the enhancement of the scheme, where the effects could be appropriately managed.

Parties were confused by what the word enhancement of the scheme would mean.

The debate went before the Environment Court, with the court ruling the wording stayed in its original state.

The Waiau Rivercare Group opposed Meridian’s appeals because the definition of enhancement was unclear, and it could be planning to increase water take, Jordan said.

*An earlier version of this story said Environment Southland’s Water and Land Plan had become operative. It becomes operative on March 1.