Stormwater resource consent
We are preparing an application to Greater Wellington Regional Council to replace our existing stormwater resource consent. Greater Wellington Regional Council will manage the consultation process for the application.
Stormwater is the run-off from rainfall which travels along natural and man-made pathways. Council manages stormwater to reduce the risk of flooding and disruption caused by large rainfall events.
Our vision
Our vision for the Kāpiti stormwater system is to ensure:
- water is given space to flow from the hills to the sea
- the health of our water bodies is enhanced and restored
- the operation, maintenance, upgrade and renewal of our network contributes to a thriving, resilient community and ecosystem
- communities are thoughtfully planned, are protected from flooding (to an agreed level of service) and resilient to anticipated climate change impacts, and
- Council works in partnership with tāngata whenua to give expression to te mana o te wai.
Background
In May 2018 Council obtained a five-year stormwater discharge consent from Greater Wellington Regional Council which requires it to:
- monitor the adverse effects of the District's stormwater discharges, and
- manage the risks to public health through targeted investigations where monitoring indicates elevated levels of faecal indicator bacteria in the stormwater discharges
- prepare a long-term strategy (called the Stormwater Management Strategy) to progressively reduce the adverse effects identified through the monitoring.
This 5-year consent expires in May 2023 and we need to lodge an application for a new consent by 10 February 2023.
Our stormwater consent application
The consent will primarily focus on how Council manages the microbial and chemical quality of stormwater. It will also cover how Council will manage its stormwater network to ensure flooding issues are not made worse and will describe how we’ll implement our Stormwater Management Strategy.
The consent will also be developed to demonstrate how Council will give effect to Te Mana o Te Wai – a central aspect on the Government’s national direction on freshwater. Te Mana o Te Wai governs all freshwater management decisions and activities by national, regional, and local authorities. It requires us to restore the health of freshwater not just prevent it from getting worse.
Te Mana o Te Wai ensures managing freshwater firstly protects the health and well-being of the water, then human health needs are provided for before enabling other uses of water.
As part of the application Council will propose:
- monitoring continues
- a District-wide stormwater management strategy
- more detailed catchment-based stormwater management plans are prepared. The plans will identify actions and improvements for each stormwater catchment and will be prepared in order of priority
- targeted investigations to address immediate public health risks continue
- regular reviews of the stormwater management strategy and plans if monitoring indicates that adjustments are necessary
- working with iwi to finalise and implement the stormwater management strategy to set priorities for the stormwater management plans as well as actions and improvements for each stormwater catchment.
How you can have your say
The stormwater discharge application will be lodged with Greater Wellington Regional Council in February 2023.
Greater Wellington Regional Council will manage the consultation process for the application. It will be publicly notified which includes an opportunity for people to make submissions. There will be a hearing where submitters will be invited to speak to their submission
We’ll let you know when the submission period is open.