Regional Freshwater Plan
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The Regional Freshwater Plan became operative on 17 December 1999.
Plan change 3, which sets allocation limits for at-risk rivers and groundwater areas in the Wairarapa, was notified on 26 May 2007. You can download a PDF copy of this from the sidebar at the right of the screen. Submissions closed on 29 June 2007, you can view the summary of the submissions. There were no further submissions on these submissions. The plan change came in to effect in May 2009.
Plan change 1, which changed rules relating to access to groundwater on the Kapit Coast, identified minimum flows and allocation limits for three rivers in the region and made small changes to improve the Plan became operative on 17 March 2007.
Plan change 2 to the Regional Freshwater Plan, which set minimum flows and water allocation limits for the Mangatarere Stream and its tributaries, became operative on 31 January 2007.
The Plan applies to all fresh water in the Wellington region, including water in rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, aquifers and artificial water courses, but excluding freshwater in the coastal marine area. It also applies to all land in river and lake beds.
The Plan identifies issues to be addressed so that fresh water resources can be sustainably managed. Objectives, policies, and methods (including rules) have been adopted to address these issues.
You can browse the Freshwater Plan rules by clicking on the regional rules link at the left of this screen.
The Plan and its appendices can be downloaded from the document bar on the right of this screen.
What sort of activities does the Plan cover?
The Regional Freshwater Plan applies to all types of activities that use freshwater or that are in the beds of rivers and lakes. Activities covered by the plan include:
- discharges to fresh water
- the taking, using, damming, or diverting of fresh water
- building and modifying structures in river and lake beds
- disturbing river and lake beds
- introducing plants to river and lake beds
- depositing substances on river and lake beds
- reclaiming or draining river and lake beds
- development on the flood plain
- flood mitigation
Our on-line User Guide can help you find the rules or regulations that apply to activities in the Greater Wellington region.
Plan effectiveness monitoring
The Plan effectiveness report for the Regional Freshwater Plan describes the results of monitoring the effectiveness of the policies and methods, including rules, in the Plan. A full copy of the report can be downloaded from the sidebar on the right side of this page.
Related regional plans
The Regional Plan for Discharges to Land covers all discharges to land, including discharges that enter water. The Regional Coastal Plan covers all discharges to land and water in the coastal marine area. The coastal marine area boundaries for all rivers are described in the Regional Freshwater Plan and the Regional Coastal Plan. The Regional Air Quality Management Plan covers all discharges of contaminants to air.