Water metering on Canterbury farms and by industry has taken a significant step forward.

Environment Canterbury (ECan) is assisting water-users in a fully-allocated groundwater red zone to bring about cost effective water metering for their own zone, Rakaia-Selwyn, and later for the wider region.

Environment Canterbury is facilitating a process, requesting proposals to supply water measurement options as well as installation and servicing.

As part of the zone’s consent review, water meters will be required at the water-users cost on all consented groundwater takes to allow use of the resource to be measured and managed. The requirement is consistent with a proposed National Environmental Standard for water measurement.

A cluster group of around 30 farmers, representing 480 water resource consent holders in the Rakaia-Selwyn groundwater zone, have been discussing ways to best implement water metering and more sustainable water allocation for the past year or more.

Environment Canterbury water meter manager, John Young, says collaboration between the council and the groundwater users provides a win-win for all parties.

“A joint approach ensures consent holders receive consistent supply and service to gather information and effectively manage and measure water resources.

“The preferred supplier will be responsible for the supply and/or installation of the technologies and will take responsibility for the ongoing service management with consent holders.”

Mr Young says farmers will be able to gather reliable information and knowledge with the ability to collect and transfer data around pumping efficiency and irrigation rates.

To provide for groundwater zone management across Canterbury, Mr Young says the preferred service providers will complete the Rakaia-Selwyn groundwater zone area initially before moving to provide the same service across other Canterbury groundwater allocation zones.

Notification started May 2, 2009 and closes June 3, 2009 at 2pm.

For more information about the Request for Proposal process please visit the website http://ecan.govt.nz/Resource+Consents/RakaiaSelwynReview/WaterMeterRFP.htm or speak to Customer Services 0800 32 4636.

More about Central Canterbury’s groundwater cluster groups:
Cluster groups are made up of water consent holders whose consents are being reviewed by the regional council as part of the Restorative Programme for Lowland Streams. The Rakaia-Selwyn groundwater allocation zone is the first in Canterbury to be reviewed through this process. This zone is classified as red by the Council, meaning that demand for groundwater outstrips supply, putting existing consent holders’ water reliability of supply at risk as well as the environmental consequences of reduced flows in lowland streams.

For more background on the cluster groups’ activity and maps of the Rakaia-Selwyn zone: http://ecan.govt.nz/Resource+Consents/RakaiaSelwynReview/ or

http://ecan.govt.nz/About+Us/DisplayMediaRelease.html?id=1080

For more information: John Young, Environment Canterbury, Manager Water Metering
027 436 2345