Rural water users challenge Kaikōura council plans to treat their water
Water supply users say the Kaikōura District Council should have talked to them before coming up with expensive plans to treat their bore water.
Like councils around the country, the council is upgrading water supplies to meet the New Zealand Drinking Water Standards before the government's new water regulator Taumata Arowai takes over next year.
Council operations manager Dave Clibbery has recommended splitting the East Coast scheme in two, building a $100,000 treatment plant for Clarence and having farms switch to rainwater for domestic use, at their own expense.
The East Coast scheme supplies 21 rural properties and 13 households in Clarence village, with the bulk of the water used for stock.
The bore supply has never been known to cause illness in its 44-year history.
But the Ministry of Health considers no bores safe after the 2016 Havelock North contamination episode in which 5000 people became ill and four died, and the area is on a boil water notice.
A spokesman for the East Coast water users, Bob Todhunter, said members of the scheme had not been consulted on their views.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
☔️ Where’d the summer go?
It’s the talk of the town (and every coffee queue): the Canterbury "summer" has felt a bit wet this year! We’ve definitely had our fair share of grey skies and raincoats lately 🌧️ In fact, the Post reports that Christchurch experienced almost double our usual!
While the forecast is looking bright for this weekend (fingers crossed!), we aren't out of the woods ... there are a few more cold fronts lining up before winter hits.
We want to hear from you: What are your go-to rainy-day activities? Whether you’re a local legend at the indoor courts or a professional movie-marathoner, share your secrets with us!
Drop your favourite rainy-day tips or photos in the comments below! 👇
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