Calm reception at Ngaruroro Water Conservation Order public session

Project manager and planner for the WCO Greg Carlyon clears up information to members of the public. Photo / Paul Taylor

Members of the public turned up to William Colenso Hall in Napier last night to receive an updated report on the Ngaruroro WCO (Water Conservation Order) process.

Project team leader and planner Greg Carlyon led the discussion and said the point of the meeting to was try to "find some common ground on the conservation order".

An application for a WCO was lodged in late 2015 to preserve and protect the many outstanding natural, recreational and cultural values of the Ngaruroro and Clive rivers.

There has been plenty of distress during the past few years from horticulturists, particularly in the wine industry, as well as farmers.

Others claimed the WCO would be "catastrophic" for the horticulture industry and the wider Hawke's Bay economy.

"This session is very much about identifying the outstanding values on the Ngaruroro River," Carlyon said. "Think of it as like a 'water national park'. We've got 15 in New Zealand already and this will be the 16th.

"It doesn't mean - in the way people think about national parks - that you take that special place and just lock it up. You just move it to a place of maturity, where you can still live and breathe, work and play."

Carlyon highlighted the "outstanding values" of the Ngaruroro and Clive rivers, some of which included the water quality, fish and bird habitat, rainbow trout fishery and whitewater rafting and kayaking.

The considerations of the WCO effectively planned to retain the quality, quantity and level of rate and flow, prevent any damming and prevent any direct discharges to water.

"When it comes to the lower Ngaruroro river and the Clive river the water quality is not that grand, the landscape is not outstanding, fish numbers are reasonably low."

Forest & Bird regional manager for Hawkes Bay Tom Kay said the point of the session was to "clarify issues with anyone who's unsure about what a water conservation order means, and to hopefully clear up some of the misinformation that has been circulating".

The session was well received by those who attended, with one member of the public saying the information put forward was "a lot more considerate and pragmatic than in the past".