Forest and Bird's Central North Island field officer Alan Fleming says the government's new fresh water policy package is good for the Bay of Plenty – but it's not good enough.

The government announced new fresh water policies on Monday afternoon in a move to improve management of the country's fresh water to better support farming and recreational use of waterways.

Government proposals made today hope to improve harmony between farmers and the general population over use of fresh water sources such as Lake Rotorua.

Alan says the National Policy Statement, an Irrigation Acceleration Fund of $35 million and the ‘A Fresh Start for Fresh Water Clean Up Fund' to assist councils with historic pollution problems, will help direct the actions of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council on its water strategies.

'They will provide some guidance for the council's water sustainability strategy, as well as for subsequent reviews on the water and soil plan.”

The policies do not set clear national water standards, however, says Alan.

'They've reduced the opportunity to protect such things as whitebait, wetlands and set measurable standards for improved water quality.”

Alan says water quality is a major concern for the Bay of Plenty and represents the lifeblood of the region's environmental, social, cultural and economic wellbeing.

The government needed to include more national standards in the fresh water policy package, says Alan.

'We have major rivers such as the Tarawera, Rangitaiki, and Wairoa; we have high water allocation for agricultural and forestry use and a high level of both point and non-point pollutants which has resulted in water degradation.”

Locally, Forest and Bird's Kaimai Mamaku Campaign www.kaimaimamaku.org.nz is working towards improving freshwater quality in both the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions.

'This campaign adopts a holistic approach to addressing water quality, biodiversity decline and economic wellbeing.”

The fresh water policy package comprises:

• A National Policy Statement on fresh water management to set a consistent, nationwide regulatory framework for setting water quantity and quality limits to govern the allocation and use of freshwater.
• An Irrigation Acceleration Fund of $35 million over five years to support the development of irrigation infrastructure proposals to the ‘investment-ready' prospectus stage which could unlock the economic growth potential of our primary sectors through the development of more efficient and effective water infrastructure, such as storage and distribution.
• A Fresh Start for Fresh Water Clean Up Fund to assist councils with historic pollution problems with reprioritised funding of $15 million over two years and a total clean-up programme commitment of $264.8 million.
• The government will also consider in a future budget investing up to $400 million of equity in water infrastructure schemes.