Uncorked

If your weekend was like mine, water never flowed too far from your thoughts.
Heading down the Kaikoura coast on Saturday to St Oswald’s rededication (detailed in the cover story), I peeled off my sweatshirt as the sun banished clouds and burned off fog – bathing Wharanui in brightness.

Hindsight being 20/20, I should have hydrated better. And worn a hat. And sunglasses. My heat headache eased only after I quenched the thirst I had not realized I developed.

On Sunday, summer again felt more like winter with rain lashing SH1 and cooler temperatures permeating into Marlborough.

I like rain. Apart from dousing outdoor plans, we need it. Greenness on Wither Hills imparts less dread of wildfires than yellow-brown dryness. Rain also replenishes our aquifers and, by extension, drinking water.

Marlburians do not need a Californian to talk about drought; that is a shared experience spanning hemispheres.

On the controversy around chlorination, though, I might offer a drop of perspective.

For seven years before moving here, I represented domestic well-users on the board of a local government agency managing groundwater sustainability. The law establishing sustainable groundwater management ceded some authority to local bodies (“some” being the operative word).

Edicts from on high could, and did, limit or remove our options. That’s how I understand the chlorination decision. Marlborough implemented what Wellington ordered.

Council cannot veto Parliament. So, while I detect change in the water – it tastes less refreshing and sometimes leaves a residue – I do not blame the mayor nor councillors. Just like I do not blame MetService for unseasonable weather.

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