Central residents can share their views on a new Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP) for Otago’s rivers and lakes in an online survey for the rest of December. 

The Otago Regional Council’s (ORC) 26 community hui (meetings) in 19 locations across Otago finished last week (December 8).

The meetings discussed actions to include in the LWRP to protect the region’s many rivers and lakes for future generations. The current state of rivers and waterways as well as the government's policies were also covered. 

ORC policy and science general manager Anita Dawe is encouraging people to fill out the online survey to ensure all views are considered.

“One of the more pleasing things to note [from the face to face meetings] was that there was common ground right across all the FMUs…” she said.

“Some people could have easily kept workshopping with us for longer than the two hours allocated, and we love this level of dedication to the future of our waterways.”

Halls and marae across Otago were the venues for meetings, with ORC, iwi representatives and regional councillors on hand to hear feedback from the public.

Participants at one of the ORC hui in Central

Meetings were held across the region’s Freshwater Management Units (FMUs) including: Catlins, Taieri, North Otago, Dunedin and Coast; and the Clutha (Mata-au) FMU which is further divided into rohe (areas): Upper Lakes, Dunstan, Roxburgh, and Lower Clutha.

The survey (specific to each FMU and rohe) can be completed until December 31.

 The final round of consultation on the Land and Water Regional Plan will be early in 2023.

Find the feedback forms for your FMU here.

If you’re unsure which FMU you belong to, find out here.

For more on the consultation on LWRP see the ORC webpage.