3 Issues for Action
In considering how the present water management system could be improved, eight key issues need to be addressed.
Issue 1: National and regional strategic planning for water management could be improved
To date, central government has not determined the national interest in freshwater and no national outcomes for water quality have been set.
Regional councils make their allocation decisions when developing regional plans, or when a person applies for a resource consent. Decisions are made largely in response to adverse effects on the environment, including effects on other users. There is increasing recognition of the need to plan for sustainable development.
Issue 2: Nationally important values need to be better addressed
Individual water bodies may have nationally important values that are under threat. However, nationally important values have not yet been identified. National issues are addressed as they arise, rather than as part of a strategic or prioritised approach across the country.
Issue 3: Setting environmental bottom lines and allocation limits is costly and contentious
Setting such limits requires good scientific information about discharge patterns, the consequences of different land uses, water use patterns, the comparative value of different water uses, and the needs of particular water bodies' ecosystems.
Good scientific information is expensive to gather and its accuracy is often disputed. Measurement techniques are costly and sometimes unreliable. There can be a substantial time delay (perhaps 50-60 years) before the effects of land use change are reflected in water quality.
Issue 4: Water is over-allocated in some catchments, is not consistently allocated to its highest value use over time, and can be wasted
In a situation of increasing competition for water, the current system may not allow allocated water to be used in the most valued or efficient way. Technically, water can be reallocated once a permit expires and water permits can be transferred. But while person-to-person transfers occur frequently (largely as the result of the sale of property), transfers of water from site to site seldom occur.
Issue 5: Tension between investment certainty and planning flexibility
It is difficult to strike the right balance between providing existing water users with certainty about their ongoing rights, and retaining enough flexibility to manage environmental risks and respond to emerging water demands. While tension is perhaps inevitable, a solution may be to change the way in which permits define water users' rights - for example, rights that are seasonally-bound, or linked to a certain volume of water.
Issue 6: Māori participation in water management could be improved
Effective Māori engagement with water management issues has not been widespread. Reasons include the limited capacity and resources of both councils and iwi, and the need to clarify processes for effectively including Māori in water planning decisions.
Issue 7: A lack of effective action in the management of diffuse discharges of contaminants on water quality, in some catchments
There is strong evidence that in some catchments, diffuse discharges of contaminants are not being effectively managed. Economic drivers are increasing the intensification of agriculture, leading to higher concentrations of contaminants. Water bodies have to cope with increasing levels of micro-organisms, sediment, and nutrients from fertilisers and animal excrement.
Diffuse discharges present a considerable challenge to water managers and landowners. This is because they are hard to identify and measure, and there are often long time lags before their impacts are seen in water quality.
Issue 8: Development of water infrastructure is not keeping pace with demand
Communities often find it difficult to develop infrastructure for irrigation, municipal and industrial supply of water. For example, there are likely to be some sites where development of storage infrastructure is appropriate, but there has been no strategic approach to identify those sites.
The actions outlined in the remainder of this document have been designed to address these eight fundamental issues.
Have your say on the issues
(Please see page vii for how to make a submission.)
Do you agree that these are the main water management issues facing New Zealand?
What other issues should be considered when improving the water management system?
