Water

Wakeup call for National ahead of October vote, says Alan Emerson.

Nanaia Mahuta was removed from the local government portfolio in a cabinet reshuffle.

It’s hoped success on free-draining soils will extend to heavier types.

Restrictions could follow within the month if dry weather persists

Ardern also responded to questions on whether the reforms extended to coastal and geothermal waters.

$10m available to help rural suppliers meet new standards.

Amuri Basin work will assist the government’s goal of restoring waterways, O’Connor says.

The scenario ultimately threatens to play out as severe hunger or famine as China struggles to feed its people and has to import large amounts of grain and other produce.

A movement based solely on what you don’t want to do has no future.

Catchments forum emphasises generational nature of work.

Catchment groups doing ‘phenomenal’ work on very tight budgets.

More than 80% at increased risk of algae bloom.

Special status for council water that serves agriculture under Three Waters.

Clutha mayor says discussions well underway to bring schemes under private, local control.

Finance committee hears concerns about food security under water services reforms.

But study suggests changes made now will more quickly show up in surface water than previously believed.

Auditor-General John Ryan lays into proposals, raising concerns about weakened accountability of new water authorities.

Local government lobby group slates Bill as ‘expropriation without compensation’ of assets held by authorities for their communities.

Government asked to help protect peri-urban assets in major scheme to bolster defences by widening riverbeds and looking at land use.

Legacy issues to blame for water quality, Northland Regional Council land management officer tells workshop.

Councils are getting a funding boost to help them implement the Three Waters reforms.

Claims that the implementation of new intensive winter grazing regulations was shambolic have been vindicated by an internal…

NEW Zealand will lose benefits of reform if it waits until 2030 to impose economic regulation on the…

Turning an irrigation sensor into an onboard agronomist is helping Canterbury-based Dairy Holdings hit some ambitious water-saving targets, while also growing more feed using less fertiliser.

About 100 council-owned schemes that supply water for drinking and agricultural use could be sold to users and…

Proposed changes to the National Environment Standards (NES) for drinking are set to sting farmers the worst, according…

New resource tool helps farmers mitigate water contamination risks.

The Government has accepted the majority of recommendations made by the Three Waters Working Group on representation, governance and accountability, Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson and Local Government Minister Nanaia Mahuta said.

Mayors and chief executives representing the 32 member councils of Communities 4 Local Democracy He hapori mō te Manapori (C4LD) have presented politicians and government officials with their alternative plan for three waters reform.

Farmers need to drive catchment groups from the bottom up but it’s those groups’ relationships with their wider communities that will ensure partnerships are inter-generational in improving water quality, while at the same time maintain vibrant rural communities.

A key piece of water infrastructure for the Ashburton District could lead to a flow of similar designs across NZ that will keep fish in the waterways where they belong.

An ex-rural banker and farm environment group trustee is calling on banks to dig deeper to support their farmer clients needing funding to help meet government freshwater standards and offset their farm’s carbon footprint.

Farmers who supply drinking water to other rural households and who are currently not registered water suppliers can be assured they will have plenty of time to meet future quality standards, chief executive of the new water services regulator Taumata Arowai Bill Bayfield says.

The fight being mounted by a breakaway group of councils, including many that are rural-based, over the Government’s proposed three waters reforms is not over yet, the group’s chair and Manawatū District mayor Helen Worboys says.

A study of Environment Southland water quality standards has concluded alternative but acceptable water quality targets can be achieved at a much reduced cost to farming and the regional economy.

The sooner farmers start addressing nutrient loss, the easier the transition and the less likely Environment Southland will need to implement punitive measures, chair Nicol Horrell says.