It's been a week of big decisions, many about water: the second Ashburton bridge has cleared its last administrative hurdle, water reforms that affect this district are out for consultation and Lake Hood is closed until further notice because of cyanobacteria.

The bridge is being progressed now that it has been signed off by the board of NZ Transport Agency; the council and NZTA have signed an agreement to manage the bridge and connecting road as one project.

The bridge has been on council's radar for 15 years and there has been a lot of consultation and planning to reach this point. The deal struck with Government is that they will pay for the lion's share (the bridge itself and embankments) and council will cover the cost of the connecting road (between Carters Terrace and Grahams Road to the south).

With NZTA currently undertaking six weeks of road works at the northern end of the existing bridge on SH1, there are probably many who wish the second bridge was already built!

Local Water Done Well is the name of the Government's new programme for the delivery of drinking water, wastewater and stormwater, and Council is talking with the community at the moment on the right delivery model for Ashburton district.

Council is proposing an inhouse model, a much-enhanced version of what already happens, and asking the community what they think.

There were two public meetings about the this important decision this week and submissions are coming in already - that is good, for this is a big decision and councillors need to hear from the community and who they want to deliver water services in the future.

Closing Lake Hood was a gutting decision, for Council as managers of the lake and for all those who use it. The need to shift a national water ski event because of the closure was particularly disappointing, but the public health risk was too great to continue.

We are following advice from Environment Canterbury and Health New Zealand to treat the lake, canals and extension as one waterbody as the algae is dynamic and able to move.

With two substantiated cases of exposure to cyanobacteria already reported (and from different parts of the lake), we know the water as it is at the moment poses a genuine health risk.

I was pleased to see visitor numbers in our library are rising and on a par with other modern libraries around New Zealand.
Some people take out books, some come in for meetings or gather to do an activity, some visit the makerspace and recording studio, and some visit for a coffee and a cinnamon scroll.

That is what modern libraries are all about: They are hubs of their communities and their customers are big and small, young and old, and all are on their own literary and digital journeys.