Hawke's Bay's dry spell puts another tick beside the plan to build the Ruataniwha water storage dam but a range of concerns remain on how best to manage the project's major component, the Tukituki river catchment.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council staff are just a month away from presenting the final draft version of the Tukituki Plan Change, which aims to set out the environmental bottom lines for all activities in the catchment.
It includes rules on taking water, discharging into the catchment water and land use.
If the Tukituki Plan Change is approved by council at its meeting on January 30, 2013, it will go out for public comment.The plan is being produced alongside the initiative to build the Ruataniwha water storage project in Central Hawke's Bay.
Councillor Neil Kirton said the science backing the projects was of a high quality but questions were still unanswered about the accountability to the public.