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New Zealand’s coastal and inland fresh waters are widely used for
recreational activities, so maintaining and protecting the quality of this
recreational water is an important public health and resource
management issue.
Fresh water for our future
Our waterways are valued by New Zealanders for recreation, for business, for their ecology, beauty and as taonga. It is important that we protect the health of fresh water and ensure society gains the greatest benefit from the use of available water.
To improve freshwater management a proposed national policy statement has been developed and New Zealanders have a chance to have their say on how this precious resource should be looked after.
Water quality and managing demand are issues New Zealand will continue to face in the future. Over the past two decades, levels of nutrients have increased in our rivers, reflecting the impact of pollution from effluent, agricultural run-off and urban stormwater.
The proposed National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management identifies water quality and managing increasing demands for water as nationally significant matters. It would require local government to actively plan for and manage water quality and demands for fresh water according to national objectives and community aspirations.
“To ensure sufficient quantity and quality of fresh water for our future, we need sound management practices. Degradation must be limited and water quality restored in lakes, rivers and other bodies of water,” says Sue Powell, General Manager of the Local Government Group at the Ministry for the Environment.
National policy statements are instruments under the Resource Management Act. They set objectives and policies that guide and direct councils on how to manage resources – such as fresh water – within their regional policy statements and regional and district plans, and through their resource consent decisions. Councils remain responsible for setting rules and standards, guided by the national policy statement.
“The national policy statement is still a proposal and we do want people’s views to be heard before it is finalised. An independent Board of Inquiry, chaired by former Environment Judge David Sheppard, is managing the consultation. I really encourage people to make submissions to the Board as the more views they hear, the more robust they can make the statement,” Powell says.
Standardising aspects of water management
The proposed national policy statement is complemented by a set of national environmental standards that will ensure a more consistent approach to particular aspects of water management. A standard is being drafted that will ensure the amount of water taken from rivers, lakes and aquifers is accurately measured. This standard, the National Environmental Standard for Measurement of Water Takes, will make it easier for regional councils to plan for water allocation. It will do this by requiring those taking water under resource consent to install meters and report on water use. It is scheduled to take effect by mid-2009.
To ensure that there is sufficient water remaining in water bodies for freshwater plants and animals, a proposed National Environmental Standard on Ecological Flows and Water Levels is being developed (submissions closed in August). If the levels of rivers, groundwater systems, lakes and wetlands run too low it can put animal and plant life at risk and impact on water users.
A national environmental standard is already in effect that will reduce the risk of contaminating drinking water sources such as rivers and groundwater, and a standard for on-site wastewater systems (or septic tanks) is being developed that would require owners to hold a warrant of fitness.
Powell says these national environmental standards complement the proposed national policy statement by providing minimum standards on particular aspects of water management. The proposed national policy statement provides the bigger picture by setting national direction on freshwater management.
The RMA allows councils to plan how they will manage fresh
water. These plans can control how much fresh water can be
taken for specific uses such as irrigation.
The future of fresh water
To deal with issues of water quality and demand we need to keep improving management practices. The standards and policies being developed go some way towards this. There are also some funding projects such as the Ministry of Agriculutre and Forestry’s Sustainable Farming Fund.
“But we must also keep on generating new ideas and solutions. At the moment we are building on earlier work done on water allocation to help make sure water is allocated in a sustainable way in terms of culture, economy, society and environment,” says Powell.
“We are also working with Māori advisers on a joint work programme to better recognise and incorporate Māori interests and values into water resource management.”
Many regional councils are successful in water allocation and management which are sometimes captured in regional plans. Horizons Regional Council, for example, uses an integrated management approach.
Other councils will be directed by the national policy statement to use an integrated approach to managing both water quantity and quality issues. This approach, says Powell, is holistic, concentrating not just on a single river, but all the streams that run into it and the surrounding land.
New Zealand has a freshwater
fishery that is one of the best
in the world.
Many councils have made commitments to deal with water pollution in their areas, including local and central government who are working with local iwi to protect Lake Taupo. And in Rotorua, the Rotorua Lakes Strategy Group is assisting in the restoration of the Rotorua lakes. It is doing this by treating or diverting nutrient-rich streams flowing into the lakes, and through other programmes such as sewerage works.
“Fresh water has been called ‘blue gold’ by some. It is extremely valuable and we must keep on working together to look after this resource. This involves central and local government, but also individual farms, businesses and households,” Powell says.
For more information see www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/water/prog-action/, or contact the water team on waterprogramme@mfe.govt.nz Submissions on the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management are being accepted until 5.00pm on 23 January 2008.
