Water quality leads 10-year plan hearing

Water quality in Lake Hayes dominated submissions at an Otago Regional Council long-term plan hearing in Queenstown yesterday.

Of the 12 groups and individuals who spoke at the hearing, half of them focused on either the lake's water quality or the need to better monitor all the district's lakes.

The hearing began with an impassioned plea by Wakatipu resident Andrew Davis, who accused the council of ''neglect'' in its statutory duty to protect water quality in Central Otago.

He accused the council of taking a passive approach to the lake and its tributary, Mill Stream. That had allowed the lake's water quality to gradually degrade to the point where residents and visitors could no longer be confident about swimming in it.  Read more