Environmental Management Strategy

Opuha Water aims to be a recognised leader in environmentally sustainable water management.  Responsible environmental management is a fundamental aspect of our company.

To achieve this Opuha Water will:

• Meet or exceed legal requirements including resource consent conditions, regional and national environmental policies, plans and standards
• Encourage and support shareholders to meet or exceed their resource consent conditions and achieve ongoing improvements to on-farm environmental management
• Fully integrate environmental considerations into all improvements and new developments
• Maintain and further develop positive and open relationships with all those affected by the scheme operations and take their views into account in decision-making
• Actively participate in opportunities to protect, restore and enhance biodiversity
• Understand, uphold and respect cultural heritage, in particular respecting tangata whenua values in relation to water, the natural environment and other taonga
• Regularly review environmental performance and report to Canterbury Regional Council, shareholders and the community
• Contribute to the Canterbury Water Management Strategy and assist Environment Canterbury and others’  understanding of quantitative demands for additional water (volume and flows) in the OOP zone, and options to meet that demand.

For our company, sustainability is about ensuring that the scheme is viable and contributes lasting benefits to society through consideration of social, environmental, ethical and economic aspects in all that it does.

We are developing an Environmental Management Strategy that sets out policies and procedures Opuha will follow in the storage, release and use of water within the Opihi catchment.

This will ensure that the scheme operators and water users will meet high environmental standards and achieve sustainable outcomes.