An application for a water conservation order for the Ngaruroro and Clive Rivers has been requested to Environment Minister Nick Smith.
A Special Tribunal has been set up to consider the application and is are calling for submissions from the community.
The New Zealand Fish and Game Council, the Hawke's Bay Fish and Game Council, Ngati Hori ki Kohupatiki, Whitewater New Zealand, Jet Boating New Zealand, and the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand jointly applied to Mr Smith for the new water conservation order.
The order is designed to recognise and sustain the outstanding values of specific rivers, lakes, or other bodies of water and if approved it would cover the entire Ngaruroro River, including its tributaries and connected groundwater, and seven kilometres of the Clive River and its connected groundwater.
A water conservation order can impose restrictions or prohibitions on the exercise of regional councils' powers as they relate to water. A regional policy statement, regional plan and district plan cannot be inconsistent with a water conservation order.