Measures to restrict, suspend or revoke water take consents in a catchment which feeds the ailing Selwyn/Waikirikiri River will be investigated.
The river has had record low flows this summer and has dried up along large stretches, including at once popular swimming spots such as Coes Ford.
Environment Canterbury will look into two possible options to help address the situation and report back to the Selwyn Waihora Zone Committee.
The best option is to do both: a water shortage direction, renewed indefinitely to allow the river to recover, coupled with a longer-term review of all water takes in the vicinity to reduce them to sustainable levels. But as ECan is gerrymandered in favour of farmers by government-appointed dictators, I suspect they'll simply go for a review while letting the river die completely. Because we couldn't possibly interfere with the "right" of farmers to make money by using public water and destroying a public river, could we?