"That's fair enough for those other rivers, because they have to reach a point where what's needed for the health of the river is understood and then what's needed for community use is also understood.
"The Clutha, even when it has very low inflows, is always going to have substantial flow in it. The Clutha could provide an alternative if people were left short of water after decisions on minimum flows for other catchments, he said.
"To me, rushing it now is like shutting the door on any possible options into the future."
Growth in Central Otago, such as creation of new subdivisions, needed to be considered in the minimum flow process, he said.
ORC senior policy analyst Tom De Pelsemaeker said council was aiming to be proactive, rather than reactive, in future-proofing the management of the river.
Demand to take water from the Clutha had increased in recent years and was likely to increase further, he said. The ORC was legally required to factor in growth under the Resource Management Act, as well as climate change and hydrology, he said.
"It is important to note that a minimum flow is not a target flow for the river to be drawn down to but is meant as a safeguard to protect values held by the river in the event that flows become low enough to have unacceptable adverse effects on these values.
"By setting allocation limits, which is also part of this process, we will avoid the river being held at the minimum flow level for extended periods of time.
"Since the majority of the water comes from the large southern lakes the Clutha is one of, if not the most, stable river in Otago.
"ORC does not consider the Clutha main stem as a back-up resource, but recognises that water from this resource may assist in reducing demand in water-short areas nearby."
Minimum flows for catchments such as the Lindis, Cardrona, Manuherikia and Arrow were expected to be completed well before decisions were made on minimum flow and allocation limits for the Clutha, he said.
Stage 1 of the consultation period began in November and public submissions close on January 19. Both Mr Kelliher and the ORC encouraged people to have a say in the process.
"I'm just trying to encourage people to make submissions," Mr Kelliher said.
"It's about people recognising or realising that this is going on and saying what they believe or what they think should happen."
- Rebecca Nadge
