3 Why Do We Need a National Environmental Standard for Water Measuring Devices?
As outlined above, accurate information is a necessary precursor to more efficient water use and catchment management, and better understanding of water resources. It is important to know how much water is being taken as opposed to the volume allocated on paper. A National Environmental Standard could put water measuring requirements in place quickly and cost effectively.
It is a priority to have consistent and accurate water-take data to assist councils and water users:
- to manage water efficiently
- to check compliance with resource consents
- to assist with resource investigations
- to facilitate the transfer of water between users in a catchment
- to manage environmental flows.
The stocktake of current water management practice undertaken as part of the Sustainable Water Programme of Action reveals variable approaches to measuring water take across regions and districts. The level of use of water measuring devices is around 36 percent of consented water takes, despite the recognised benefits. Practices range from universal measuring to a requirement to measure only for large volume abstractions or in catchments under pressure (for example, those with low flows or high ecological values). The stocktake also indicated the size and source of water take consents around the country (shown in Table 1 below). A comprehensive table summarising current water measuring practices among regional councils can be found in Appendix 2.
Table 1 below shows the number of existing water take consents grouped by size (peak rate of abstraction) and source. It shows that over half the resource consents are issued for takes of less than 10 l/s, and over half of these are sourced from groundwater. Groundwater takes are generally associated with piped flow.
Table 1: National consent summary by size of take and water source
|
Size of take (litre/sec) |
Number of groundwater takes |
Number of surface water1 takes |
Number of takes from storage2 |
Total number all sources |
% of all takes in each size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
0-5 |
5,495 |
1,721 |
346 |
7,562 |
39% |
|
5-10 |
1,735 |
530 |
55 |
2,320 |
12% |
|
10-20 |
1,941 |
725 |
63 |
2,729 |
14% |
|
20-50 |
2,476 |
1,359 |
100 |
3,935 |
20% |
|
50-100 |
1,011 |
726 |
44 |
1,781 |
9% |
|
100-1000 |
465 |
623 |
41 |
1,129 |
6% |
|
> 1000 |
2 |
60 |
9 |
71 |
0.4% |
|
Total number by source (and %) |
13,125 (67%) |
5,744 (30%) |
658 (3%) |
19,527 |
Notes:
1 - direct takes from rivers and streams;
2 - takes from lakes and dams.
Source: Aqualinc (2006), Water Measuring Devices - Stocktake of existing situation.
The following map shows the number of consents compared to the number of measuring devices throughout New Zealand.
Figure 3: Regional distribution of consents and measuring devices (nos.)
See
figure at its full size (including text description).
Source: Aqualinc (2006), Water Measuring Devices - Stocktake of existing situation.
During preliminary discussions and at a regional council forum [Water 06 Forum at Christchurch, 3 and 4 August 2006.] on the Water Programme of Action, regional councils expressed support for a National Environmental Standard for water measuring. They indicated a preference for mandatory water take measuring, except in some identified circumstances. This shows an established need from a resource manager's perspective.
The proposed National Environmental Standard addresses this need for national efficiency, consistency and comprehensive coverage in water measurement. It is not related to the issue of charging for water.
3.1 Alternative methods are not sufficient
An alternative option to introducing a National Environmental Standard requiring water take measurement is to amend the Resource Management Act. However, legislative change is less preferable where the same outcomes can be achieved under existing regulation-making tools such as a national environmental standard.
Other ways of implementing the measurement of water takes include:
- consent conditions and regional plan rules
- voluntary uptake by users
- guidelines and codes of practice.
All of these options are currently available to resource managers but, as shown by the stock-take report in Appendix 2, uptake of measuring has been slow and difficult. This has meant a lack of consistency and comprehensiveness in national and regional water take data.
A National Environmental Standard would enable measuring to be comprehensively implemented in a cost effective and expedient manner. Moreover, it is the only option that will achieve all the objectives stated earlier.
The following table demonstrates the indicative ability of a National Environmental Standard to achieve the objectives stated earlier as well as cost effectiveness and expediency.
|
Objectives |
Guidelines / code of practice |
Regional plan rules and consent conditions |
National environmental standard |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Set minimum requirements for all new water measuring devices (across New Zealand) |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Define situations where water measuring devices are compulsory conditions of resource consents |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Ensure consistency at national, regional and catchment levels |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Enable water users to easily determine compliance with water take consents |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Provide accurate information about actual water taken in any catchment |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Be cost effective and expedient when introduced nationally |
No |
No |
Yes |
3.2 An accurate and consistent national picture about actual water take is needed
Nationally consistent data about the volume of water taken is needed to build understanding of the contribution of water to the national and regional economy, and to plan for economic growth. Accurate information on the actual take is also vital to understanding relative levels of allocation between catchments.
When data is gathered using a variety of equipment, installation practices and recording practices with questionable accuracy, there may be doubts about the reliability of the aggregate data. The lack of comprehensive coverage and the use of estimates or allocation figures as surrogates for takes raise further doubts about the overall validity of the information.
A National Environmental Standard would provide consistency across the country in terms of gathering valid data and requiring measurement of actual water taken. Consistent data and measuring parameters would make national collation easier and more cost effective. The national application of consistent requirements would assist users who abstract water in different regions of the country and currently face varying resource consent conditions relating to measuring.
3.3 Increased understanding of water resource use among regulators, resource users and interested parties is needed
Standardised information about how much water is being abstracted has a wide range of benefits and uses. To enable better transfer of unused water between users, councils and water user groups need to understand how much water is being taken and at what times. Transferring unused water or water that is available at different times of the year assists in obtaining the maximum benefit from the water resource.
A proposed National Environmental Standard could apply consistent methods to measure water take which will increase the ability of water users across to country to understand and trust the information.
