Water Restrictions-Level 3

Water Restrictions- Level 3
Paihia/Opua/Waitangi      &
Rawene/Omanaia
On display until 29 February 2020, 12:00 PM

A ban is hereby placed on the use of the Council water supply
scheme at Paihia/Opua/Waitangi and Rawene/Omanaia for the
following purposes:

•        All hosepipe use
•        All irrigation and sprinkler use
•        Water blasting
•        Filling swimming pools from mains supply

This ban is required due to the low amount of rainfall
experienced across the region recently resulting in reduced
river levels, as well as the increased demand on public water
during the summer season.

This notice applies to the area serviced by the
Paihia/Opua/Waitangi and Rawene/Omanaia water supply scheme
effective immediately and will remain in place until further
notice.

The Far North District Council urges all residents to conserve
water. For more information on the restrictions, including
applications for exemption to these restrictions, please refer
to the Water Supply section of www.fndc.govt.nz or free phone
0800 920 029.

This Notice is issued pursuant to clause 710 of the Far North
District Council General Bylaw, Chapter 7 – Water Supply.

Andy Finch
General Manager
Infrastructure and Asset Management

Source: FNDC

Reduce your water use
Our goal is to reduce water consumption across the district by
25%.

You can help by following these guidelines:

       Only wash clothes when you have a full load. A washing
       machine uses about 150 litres of water per wash
       Use the dishwasher for full loads only. Each load uses
       40 to 80 litres of water
       Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth
       Put the plug in the sink when washing vegetables and
       don’t leave the tap running
       Mulch your garden with grass clippings or compost.
       Mulching prevents up to 70 per cent of water loss
       through evaporation
       Put a half full soft drink bottle in your toilet cistern
       to reduce the quantity of water you flush
       Flush the toilet less often
       Use less water in the bath. A bath can use up to 80
       litres of water
       Take shorter showers. A shower uses about 8 litres of
       water a minute
       Soak your garden once every few days rather than giving
       it a quick drink every night. Light watering makes the
       plants shallow rooted, and most of the water is wasted
       through evaporation. Soaking the ground every few days
       encourages the roots to go deeper into the soil to seek
       out moisture
       Keep a bottle of drinking water in the fridge to avoid

running more water than you need for a glass of water

Visit Be water wise for tips how to save water.

                         Source: FNDC

$12M funding boost – regional
water storage and use project
Today’s (Friday’s) announcement of a $12 million boost for the
water storage and use project underscores the Government’s
confidence in the scheme and the region, says Northland
Regional Council Chair Penny Smart.

“This round of Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) funding will
increase our ability to deliver vital infrastructure for the
region – it’s the backing needed to forge ahead with plans to
collect, store and distribute water in such a way that there
will be minimal impact on the environment.”

Initial studies indicate the water storage and use project has
the real potential to create hundreds of jobs and grow
Northland’s economy by tens of millions annually.

While primarily aimed at storing water for horticulture, it
may also provide a valuable supply of water for municipal
supplies should district councils decide to invest in the
project for this purpose.

“This would be very helpful right now when the region is
teetering on the edge of full-blown drought,” Chair Smart
says. “A lot of Northland’s rain comes at once and there is a
huge opportunity to capture this water and provide greater
resilience to climate change, along with economic

opportunities for our communities. The water storage project
is about collecting the rain water and making it available
when it’s needed.”

The project’s potential to open-up land for high value
horticulture was earlier recognised with an $18.5M allocation
from the PGF last year. The collaborative initiative is led by
the regional council and involves the Far North and Kaipara
District Councils and Northland Inc.

Northland Inc CEO Murray Reade says the project provides a
much-needed opportunity to manage a critical resource for the
region. “The initiative will provide benefits to local
businesses and communities to help develop our economy.”

Experts will be available to discuss infrastructural aspects
of the project and the horticultural opportunities it could
present at drop-in days at Sportsville Dargaville from 10am to
2pm on Tuesday 18 February and Ōhaeawai Rugby Club from 10am
to 2pm on Wednesday 19 February.

Oturei farmer Dennis Te Tuhi currently runs a 40ha sheep and
beef farm south of Dargaville. He says any opportunity to
transition to a higher value land use would bring benefits for
both landowners and the wider community.

“We have good soils for horticulture in our region but as
we’re finding out right now, we’re vulnerable to mother nature
if it doesn’t rain. This water storage scheme would mean I
could get the best value out of my land and have confidence
that any investment made to develop it wouldn’t be wasted
because we could manage the drought risk.

“It would mean we could employ a lot more people so the
effects would flow all through the community.”

Today’s funding top-up caps off a whopping week of Government
investment in Northland, coming on top of a $692M allocation
for four-laning the road between Whangārei and Port Marsden,

and a $109.7M investment in Northland rail.

“It’s all brilliant news,” says Chair Smart. “We’re so pleased
that after years of frustration trying to secure funding for
our region, Northland’s now getting the attention it deserves
and needs.”

                         Source: NRC

Council to take ‘back seat’
on GMO appeal; unlikely to
call evidence
The newly-elected Northland Regional Council has today (subs:
Weds 29 January) confirmed it will not officially change its
predecessor’s position on the management of genetically
modified organisms (GMOs) in its Proposed Regional Plan for
Northland.

However, the new council (collectively   elected in October last
year) has also confirmed it will now     take a ‘back seat’ and
won’t take an active role – including    offering any evidence –
in upcoming Environment Court appeal     proceedings on the GMO
issue.

Council Chief Executive Malcolm Nicolson says the Environment
Court had confirmed that there will be confidential mandatory
court-ordered mediation, however a date had yet to be set.

The mediation will be a crucial first step in an appeal
process that will eventually decide whether provisions on the
management of GMOs are included in the Proposed Regional Plan,
which is effectively the rulebook for the way Northland’s

water, air, soil and coast is managed.

Mr Nicolson says with that with mediation date likely to be in
the next few months, staff had today (subs: 29 January 2020)
contacted all the parties involved in the appeal as a courtesy
to advise them of the council’s position to take a back seat
during the appeal.

“It was considered appropriate to do this as both a
professional and personal courtesy before outlining this to
the wider public.”

Mr Nicolson says the new council had carefully considered its
position on the appeal against its predecessor’s formal
decision not to include GMO provisions in the Proposed
Regional Plan. It had done this at an informal workshop last
month (subs: 04 December 2019).

“The current council respects the process that was followed by
the previous council in making its formal decision on the GMO
issue on July 16 last year, and as a result it does not intend
to change its position.

“However, the council is conscious that the inclusion (or not)
of GMO provisions in the Proposed Regional Plan is an issue
with a high level of public interest and that parties on both
sides have strong views, and will therefore not actively
participate in the upcoming Court process.”

That situation was reflected by the fact that the original
collective council decision in July last year had been ‘finely
balanced’.

If agreement can’t be reached during the upcoming mediation,
the matter would then advance to a formal Environment Court
hearing at a yet to-be-determined date, probably later this
year.

Mr Nicolson says given the fact that council’s official

position on GMOs had not changed, a new vote had not been
required (or taken) by councillors.

This meant that the council was content to leave it to the
other appeal parties (who represent both sides of the
argument) to present the evidence and respective positions on
GMOs to the court.

Mr Nicolson says the previous council’s formal decision in
July last year was the culmination of a “long, considered
process with councillors hearing and taking into account
expert scientific evidence and feedback from more than 80
submissions over several years”.

The decision on rules to regulate GMOs was considered
separately from the rest of the council’s Proposed Regional
Plan, which was publicly notified by the regional council
earlier last year.

However, Mr Nicolson says with its decision on GMOs formally
confirmed in July last year – and the subsequent appeal then
filed – the council’s role had now changed.

“Effectively council is now just another player in the issue
rather than the referee; the latter role is now assumed by the
Environment Court and council’s status is no greater or less
than any of the other parties.”

Meanwhile, Mr Nicolson confirmed among the appeal parties
contacted today was new regional councillor Marty Robinson,
who had personally joined the appeal on the decision not to
include GMO provisions in the Proposed Regional Plan before
his election to council.

“Since his election, Cr Robinson has stood aside from any
council discussion on the GMO issue due to his involvement
with GE Free Northland, his involvement as a party to
Environment Court appeal proceedings and the associated
conflict of interest that arises with his role as a regional

councillor.”

                           Source: NRC

PM confirms 2020                             general
election date
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed the 2020 general
election will be held on September 19 – one that will be jam-
packed with referendums.

New Zealanders will be voting for their electorate candidate,
their favourite political party, and also deciding if they
would like to legalise euthanasia and recreational cannabis.

This year’s general election will be held on a Saturday, the
same as 2017 when the general election was held on September
23.

“We will be asking for a further term to get the job done,”
the Prime Minister said at her post-Cabinet press conference
on Tuesday, after confirming the date.

New Zealand operates under a mixed-member proportional (MMP)
voting system. In 2017, 71 members were elected from single-
member electorates and 49 members were elected from closed
party lists.

In September last year, it was announced there will be a new
electorate at the 2020 general election resulting in one fewer
list seats in Parliament than at the 2017 election.

The 2017 election saw five political parties return to
Parliament – National, Labour, New Zealand First, the Greens

and ACT – down from seven parties in 2014.

One of those parties that didn’t make it back to Parliament
was the Māori Party, and it’s rumoured they are gearing up for
a return to Parliament in 2020.

After the 2017 election, even with support partner ACT, the
National Party were short of the 61 seats needed to govern
following the 2017 general election results.

It needed New Zealand First’s nine seats to govern, but New
Zealand First leader Winston Peters decided to give his seats
to Labour and form a coalition, with the Greens as Labour’s
confidence and supply partner.

The election resulted in Labour leader Jacinda Ardern becoming
New Zealand’s third female Prime Minister, and Peters taking
on the Deputy Prime Minister role for a second time.

                       Source: NewsHub

Restrictions for all                                   Far
North water supplies
Level 3 water restrictions are now in force for the Council’s
Opononi-Omapere water supply. The increase from Level 2 to
Level 3 restrictions is necessary to reduce demand on the
Waiotemarama Stream, which is flowing at very low levels.

The South Hokianga supply joins the Kaikohe, Kaitaia, and
Kawakawa-Moerewa water schemes which are already operating
under Level 3 restrictions. This means that it is illegal to
water gardens or lawns with sprinklers, irrigation systems or
hand-held hoses. The use of open hoses, trigger nozzle hoses,

or water blasters to wash vehicles, windows, buildings or
paved areas is also banned, as is the filling of swimming
pools from Council water supplies.

Level 2 restrictions are also being applied from today to the
Kerikeri-Waipapa, Opua-Paihia-Waitangi and Okaihau water
schemes. This makes it illegal to use automatic or unattended
garden hoses, sprinklers and irrigation devices.

Water restrictions are now in place for all Council water
supplies and are being imposed following the third driest 12-
month period on record in the Far North.

General Manager – Infrastructure and Asset Management Andy
Finch is asking residents, no matter where they live, to
reduce their overall water use.

“I’m urging all residents to remember that the waterways
feeding our water supply schemes are very sensitive to drought
and I am asking them to reduce consumption by 25 per cent.”

He says the reduction target is also aimed at those on
rainwater tanks. “The unusually dry weather has hit those
reliant on rain water and we are predicting a spike in demand
at treatment plants from bulk water carriers resupplying
households not connected to Council water supplies.”

He says that    if everyone reduces water consumption now, the
imposition of   more stringent restrictions can be delayed, and
we can avoid    the worst-case scenario of an interruption to
treated water   supplies.

More information on water restrictions in your area and tips
on saving water can be found on the Be Waterwise Whakanuia to
whakaaro ki te wai website.

To tell the Council about water leaks or breaches to water
restrictions phone 0800 920 029. Residents can apply for an
exemption from water restrictions. These will be granted only

in exceptional circumstances. Applicants must demonstrate
significant hardship and have no practical alternative water
source in order to be exempted. Go to the Save water page on
the FNDC website for more details and to apply for an
exemption.

                        Source: FNDC

2020   FIREMANS   WALKATHON
(WHIRINAKI to RAWENE)

Bring the kids down for some ‘old school’ games and activities
AND you can cheer in all of the participants on the Fireman’s
                             Walk

                             OR

maybe do the walk yourself ….

                              AND

we will be doing a VERY different SAM RUKA MEMORIAL CHALLENGE
                          this year.

                   So get your teams ready.

                      See you there !!!!

Rawene Neighbourhood Watch
Rawene Neighbourhood Watch

Kaumatua Steve Morunga from Rawene is requesting volunteers to
step forward for a neighbourhood watch project.

As the project grow, more information will be provided. At
this stage we would like one administrator and many volunteers
to register there expression of interest with the Rawene News.
Please submit your name and contact details to :
rawenenews@gmail.com

Registration will also be possible at the Rawene Saturday
Market on 1 February 2020 from 8am to Noon.

Administrator:

Duties will include keeping record of expenses, kilometers
traveled, funding and dealing with incident reports.

Volunteers:

Able bodied men and woman living in and around Rawene that
holds a drivers licence to drive around in a sponsored

vehicle, patrolling Rawene at night between the hours of 11pm
to 4am. You will be on the lookout for possible problems and
check on our elderly in town. You will be working hand in hand
with the police.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Can I Swim Here?
Over the summer period we take hundreds of samples from
popular coastal and freshwater swimming spots in Northland.

           ➡️ Check your favourite spot is safe to
                swim:www.nrc.govt.nz/swimming

                         Source: NRC

Far North Creative Business
Workshops

Finally, marketing for our first 2020 free Far North Creative
Business Workshops in early March.

Creative Northland are offering a series of free artists in
business workshops in the Far North.

The first workshop is in Kohukohu, Strategic Planning for
Small Business, on Thursday March 5th.

Subsequent workshops are Project Planning (based around events
and proposals), and Marketing.
Later in the year we hope to deliver further workshops on
finances, legal and administration.
Please     contact      Janet     Nixon     on    0211692494
or janet.nixon551@gmail.com for further information