A report released last week about freshwater management in New Zealand has been welcomed by the regional council, and it says it is already working in the right direction.
The Land and Water Forum report into improving freshwater management in New Zealand identified a number of goals for the country and said there were major areas where change was needed.
These included setting standards for water quality and quantity while taking into account New Zealand's geography, and the diversity of cultural, economic, environmental and social interests in water.
Forum chairman Alastair Bisley said the Forum had come together because water provided great opportunities for all New Zealanders.
"We've agreed if we want to make the most of these opportunities - for our environment, our economy and our way of life - the way that water is managed needs to change," he said.
"Our freshwater is still good overall and rates well internationally, but its quality and availability have been deteriorating, and we must take steps on several fronts to reverse this trend."
Consistent practices and limits and targets for contamination would improve water quality, he said.
Better tools for allocations and transferring water permits were needed and water storage could be good for the environment and the economy.
The Hawke's Bay Regional Council said it had been working through many of the recommended actions since the creation of the Strategic Water Programme in 2009.
Mr Bisley said the forum hoped its report would move the national debate on water forward.
The report made recommendations, but did not detail solutions and more discussion over the next few months would help inform the government's changes to water management.
The regional council was studying the possibility of water storage in the Central Hawke's Bay with the intention of using excess winter water for irrigation in drier months.
A project team was overseeing the installation of standardised water meters on consented water takes and a water demand study, and discussions with local treaty settlement claimant groups were moving toward co-governance arrangements for resource management.
Council chief executive Andrew Newman said a two-day water symposium planned for the beginning of December would give water users, industry and local government the chance to share ideas to improve the understanding of water allocation issues.
"This, and other work under action by the Council, reflects the complexity and importance of our water resource issues," Mr Newman said.
Of equal importance was the ability to reach agreement with the community on policy decisions that are being made concerning water.
Recent consent processes that had been "litigious and adversarial" were not helpful to any party, he said.
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