Standard septic tanks

Outside the Rotorua Lakes' catchments new conventional septic tank systems continue to be permitted, provided that the conditions of rule 3 and schedule 1 of the On-site Effluent Treatment Regional Plan are met. Please refer to the Onsite Effluent Treatment Regional Plan to view these.

When dealing with district and city councils it is helpful to have a printout of tables 6 and 7 of schedule 1.

Advanced wastewater system

If you want to install an advanced system rule 12 of the On-site Effluent Treatment Regional Plan applies.

A list of advanced systems able to meet the effluent quality requirements of rule 12(f)  is available here:

Advanced Wastewater System Supplier List - Rule 12: Outside Rotorua Lakes' catchments (10KB, PDF)

NB: Bay of Plenty Regional Council carried out no testing or verification of manufacturers claims for most of these systems.

Trial results of some treatment systemsare available at Rotorua Lakes catchments page.

Find out more about choosing an advanced wastewater system.