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. Hearings are planned for April 2008. 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. | 
