Proposed Canterbury Natural Resources Plan for river and groundwater allocation policies and the implications for irrigation dependent farming in Canterbury
Over 60% of the water that is used for irrigation throughout New Zealand is allocated within the Canterbury Region. In 1985 around 150000 hectares of land was irrigated, in 1999 this had more than doubled and the Canterbury Strategic Water Study1 has estimated there is potential in Canterbury to irrigate up to 1000000 hectares. As the demand for water increases the conflicts are likely to increase. These conflicts may be between users, between those who have access to water and those who don't but would like some, or between existing and potential users and environmental interests. Environment Canterbury has recently notified a major variation to its Natural Resources Regional Plan that includes policies for the management of water, intended to help address the conflicts between the use, development and protection of the regions water resources. This paper and presentation outlines and backgrounds the allocation strategies included in Chapter 5 - Water Quantity and discusses some of the implications for irrigation dependent farming.
