Irrigation Strategy 2022.

The Irrigation Strategy 2022 has been built with the same purpose and goals of the Water Act 2017 (Section 2 of the Water Act lists the purpose and goals) specifically, the Strategy relies on these guiding principles: Protection of our local environment; Prioritized usage in accordance with the Water Act; Responsible usage by water users; Promoting healthy soil and a healthy environment; Fair access; Proactive planning and mitigation during extreme events; Transparency and accountability.
Key components of the Strategy are: 1) Environment Protection, in particular limiting impacts on stream flow for the protection of habitat for aquatic life including fish; 2) Improved Environmental Benefits, considerations on water quality and high nitrate concentration in water caused by Agriculture and the environmental, social, and economic implications; 3) Soil Health. A system of soil quality monitoring and improvement, called a Soil Health Improvement Plan (SHIP), will be piloted for newly irrigated fields and tied to water permitting. The intention of a SHIP is to link supplemental irrigation to the promotion and adoption of beneficial management practices to optimize the effective and efficient use of water for irrigation through ensuring optimal soil health and soil productivity. 4) Equitable Access to water and adequate stream flows for aquatic habitat requires an improved system of allocation of water; 5) Efficient Use; 6) Monitoring and Transparency in the water management.