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21 rostrevor street, po box 9338, hamilton 3204
p +64 7 839 7966 e www.
waikatoriver
.org.nz
Authority sets out
principles for limiting
water allocation and
contaminant loss
The Waikato River Authority has adopted principles
to help guide thinking on resource and contaminant
limit setting for the Waikato and Waipa rivers.
The principles have been set out as Healthy Rivers:
Plan for Change/Wai Ora: He Rautaki Whakapaipai
nears a major milestone.
From late October to November, people can provide
feedback to help finalise a solution for the health of
the Waikato and Waipa rivers.
Healthy Rivers/Wai Ora, a joint project involving
Waikato and Waipa River iwi and Waikato Regional
Council, is working with stakeholders to develop
changes to the Waikato Regional Plan to help
restore and protect the health of the rivers.
The plan change will involve reducing sediment,
bacteria and nutrients entering water bodies in
the 1.1 million hectare Waikato and Waipa
river catchments.
A 24 strong Collaborative Stakeholder Group
represents stakeholders and the community in the
project. Modelling is helping the group investigate
Whaingaroa Habourcare planters at Te Pahu, (L-R)
Motu Piula, Te Hoea Riki, Don Waitere and Roy Murch.
a number of scenarios for the catchments, and
indicates the changes on land required to meet
various scenarios.
From late October to November, the Collaborative
Stakeholder Group will ask for public feedback on
the direction they are heading.
The principles adopted by the Waikato River
Authority Board are:
• Limits on resource allocation or use, such as for
water allocation or contaminant loss, should be
set at a level that at a minimum provides for the
achievement of the objectives of the Vision and
Strategy
• These limits should be set with recognition of lag
times, where historical or current contaminant
losses are yet to be exhibited in the river either
in part or in full
• Once limits are set, any over-allocation or
over-use shall cease in the shortest possible
reasonable time
• No new allocation or use shall be allowed to
occur that would exceed agreed limits
• A precautionary approach shall be taken to limit
setting where decisions may result in significant
adverse effects on the river, in particular where
those effects threaten irreversible damage to the
river.
More information is available on Healthy Rivers:
Plan for Change/Wai Ora: He Rautaki Whakapaipai at
Major planting
at Te Pahu
A project to carry out extensive planting at a Te Pahu
dairy farm that has streams feeding into the Waipa
River has made significant progress. The project is
being undertaken by Whaingaroa Habourcare.
In total 22 hectares of gully and wetland is being
planted and restored next to the Paratawa Stream
which run into the Waipa. The area is sited below
the Kapamahunga Range, an area identified as
an “ecological hot spot” in the Waipa District
Significant Natural Areas Assessment.
This farm is subject to regular floods and the
volume of water passing through the farm is
considerable, especially when the Waipa River
backflows through the wetland. By restoring
this wetland, biodiversity will be enhanced and
important ecological services will be repaired by
helping flood control, groundwater replenishment,
sediment and nutrient retention. The project
involves planting 160,000 native trees over a two
year period and is fast becoming a showcase for
planting and wetland restoration in the area.