The Operative Regional Plan for the Tarawera River Catchment (Tarawera River Plan) covers the catchment of the Tarawera River including all its sub-catchments, and Upper Tarawera Lakes and their catchments, but excludes Lake Rerewhakaaitu and its catchment.
Regional Plan for the Tarawera River Catchment Review
Council must formally review regional plans every 10 years and decide whether the plan is retained or altered. The review of the Regional Plan for the Tarawera River Catchment (the Plan) has recently been carried out.
The main finding from the review is that there has been some improvement in the water quality of the Tarawera River, particularly in the Lower Reach of the catchment. Some of this improvement may be due to actions outside the Plan. The review also found that the Plan was more efficient at achieving this improvement than the Regional Water and Land Plan would have been on its own.
The review also found that the Plan had many duplications and/or conflicts with the Regional Water and Land Plan. To resolve these issues, the recommendation was to replace the existing Plan with a second generation plan.
Council is currently implementing the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and has divided the region into nine Water Management Areas. Council will engage with the community to develop limits and values for each of the Water Management Areas.
The Tarawera River will begin this process in 2018. As the limits and values will have an impact on the contents of the Plan, work on the second generation plan has been delayed until the community involvement process has started in 2018.
The Regional Plan for the Tarawera River Catchment – Review Summary Report summarises the findings of the review and sets out recommendations for the new plan.
Statutory Acknowledgements
The Ngā Whakaaetanga-ā-Ture ki Te Taiao ā Toi (Statutory Acknowledgements in the Bay of Plenty) is a compendium document to be read as an attachment to and in conjunction with the Operative Tarawera River Catchment Plan including any proposed regional plan or policy statement, and any variation or change notified by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Check out the Statutory Acknowledgements for more information.