Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman John Cronin says they are happy with the government announcement on new fresh water policies, however, the clean-up fund of $15 million may fall a bit short.

'My only concern is the $15 million clean-up fund – it's relatively small in terms of the size of the issue.”

Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman John Cronin.

John says it seems quite small compared to the $140 million fund already in place to clean up the lakes in the Bay of Plenty, in which the government matches the city council and regional council dollar for dollar.

'But we're pretty happy with the direction of government.

'It's a fresh start for fresh water; we want to be able to swim safely and rely on fresh water to run our businesses.”

John says the Bay of Plenty has focused on water quality for years, especially around Lake Rotorua and the high priority lakes.

'We have a head start on other regions – we are ahead of the game.”

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

Environment Minister Nick Smith and Agriculture Minister David Carter announced the policies saying improved water management is needed to grow the economy while better caring for our rivers, lakes and aquifers.
'This water package demonstrates the government's commitment to maximising the economic growth opportunities of water – our most plentiful natural resource – while protecting our environment,” says David.

'These steps are about improving the management of water to support a growing economy and the great Kiwi lifestyle of swimming, boating and fishing.”

The 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.