https://www.thepress.co.nz/environment/350292861/race-against-time-save-fish-high-country
Intrigued by this article, on Tuesday 5th June, I drove up to the head of Lake Coleridge to have a look for myself.
Sure enough by then the Harper Diversion race was totally dewatered due to the Harper River flows being diverted back into its original channel to be re-captured at the Oakden Canal.
As an angling advocate, several questions came to mind;
i) Why is Manawa Energy conducting its routine maintenance timed with the early winter spawning runs of resident Lake Coleridge salmon and rainbow trout.
ii) Who paid for the salvage operation? License holders or Manawa Energy?
I followed the Oakden Canal downstream to the lake and interviewed a couple of anglers catching a break at their camper van.
The flow in the canal was insufficient for migrating lake fish to move upstream due to a barrier in the form of a weir across the width of the distal canal.
The public no longer has ownership of the commons.
The Trustpower sign below provided the final insult on my way home.
Trustpower, now Manawa Energy inherited the consent to divert the Harper River into Lake Coleridge from Electricity New Zealand, (ECNZ).
Before the diversion Lake Coleridge was separated from both the glacial fed Harper and Wilberforce Rivers and was noted for its clarity.
The diversion consent purports to protect this attribute by limiting the diversion to a maximum flow of 30 m3/sec with a daily maximum sediment allowance of 2000 tons (of “Specially prepared Habitat).
Peter Trolove
Executive member NZFFA
The arrogance of Manawa Power is only exceeded by the institutional corruption plaguing Environment Canterbury. It all goes back to John Key sacking the democratically elected regional council of the nation’s second largest city and replacing them with stooges. The institutional ethos remains 14 years down the road, and the only thing that might change things is an extensive Parliamentary investigation and an RMA 2.0 that addresses cumulative effects and corrupt regional councils.
Strikes me that F&G has long since lost its way as an advocacy group for its Members – but hey they only finance it!
F&G now seem neutered in their ability to challenge any environmental concerns – especially regarding health of our rivers and hence their stock.
Maybe time they were ditched in favour of true representation – I only wish the NZFFA could pick up that baton and run with it
Excellent idea Peter that you drove up there to have a look. A few things to keep in mind. They can divert in total 80 cumecs from the Harper (50) and Wilberforce (30) river. The 30 cumecs you refer to is only the maximum to be discharged from the Wilberforce Canal into the Oakden Canal. Because the Oakden can also capture flows from the Harper the Wilbforce discharge consent limit of 30 cumecs cannot be monitored.
This scheme with its WCO amendment is corrupt and ECan supports it. It’s disgraceful.