Welcome to Water New Zealand’s new online newsletter highlighting

and discussing issues around water.

In this issue:

• Auckland Governance Reforms and Water Management

• Benefits of Water Harvesting and Storage

• Strategic Approach to Water Science Supported

• Land & Water Forum Report – The Way Forward

The key stories in this edition are the Land and Water Forum’s Report and the potential benefits of reform of Auckland’s water infrastructure.

The internet is increasingly becoming the preferred tool for communications. Further rollout of broadband will enhance its performance. The format we are using here allows recipients to rapidly scan for subjects of interest.

If you would like further information on the subjects discussed please feel free to contact me.

Murray Gibb, Chief Executive Officer, Water New Zealand

Critics of Auckland governance reforms have argued that placing businesses into Council controlled organisations has removed local democracy and that this will result in poorer outcomes. There has been less public discussion round the benefits of rationalisation of these businesses.

Water New Zealand supported the new arrangements for managing water services in the region, which has placed water and wastewater services into Watercare Services Limited, an independent, but Council owned business, modelled on commercial lines.

Water New Zealand supports the Land and Water Forum’s recommendations on large scale water harvesting and storage infrastructure. Further development of this infrastructure makes sense for a number of very sound reasons.

Firstly, it makes economic sense and can future proof agricultural production. While New Zealand is an extraordinarily water rich country, drier eastern parts of the country do suffer periodic droughts. Climate change predictions are for these areas to get even drier.

Strategic Approach to Water Science Supported

Land & Water Forum Report - The Way Forward

Alastair Bisley, Chair, Land and Water Forum

A Fresh Look at Freshwater

“Firstly, good water management has become more important to both New Zealand’s biologically based economy and in its urban environments. Debate over quality, allocation, and efficient use has heated up over the past decade as the resource has come under increased pressure from intensification of land use,” he said.

“Secondly, water doesn’t respect boundaries.

The Land and Water Forum came together because we knew that water provides great opportunities for all of us – our ecologies and our environments, our farms and our cities, our recreation and our tourists, and for energy production and industry. It is a source of life and food, and for iwi it is also central to their identity. To maximise these opportunities for us all, and for future generations, we needed a better way to manage water in New Zealand – less confrontational, more collaborative, and more effective.