If you have a resource consent that lets you take fresh water at a rate of 5 litres per second or more, you must:
- measure the water use every 15 minutes (or weekly with approval from your regional council); and
- store the data; and
- send the data electronically every day to the regional council that issued the resource consent (or as instructed by the council).
You will need to install a device capable of doing this and start reporting according to the following timetable.
When do the regulations apply?
The Regulations are being introduce in a staged approach, applying to consent holders with larger water takes first.
Requirements and timelines for councils
Regional council records systems should be reviewed so they can accommodate daily electronic records of water permit information from 3 September 2022.
Regional councils can set conditions that are more or less stringent than the Regulations
For future consents covered by the Regulations, councils may impose more stringent measurement and/or reporting requirements than the Regulations require.
On water takes not covered by the Regulations (eg, non-consumptive takes, takes of geothermal or coastal water, or takes of fresh water of less than 5 litres per second), councils can specify any measuring or reporting requirements, including more or less stringent requirements than those in the Regulations.
Regulations do not apply to households and others
The Regulations do not apply to people who do not require a resource consent for their water take (permitted takes), including:
- individual households or businesses that take water from a reticulated supply
- takes that are specifically permitted in section 14 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA)
- any takes that are permitted by a rule in a regional plan
- holders of consents for water takes that only allow water to be taken at a rate of less than 5 litres per second.
The Regulations also do not apply to holders of consents for:
- takes of coastal or geothermal water
- non-consumptive takes (irrespective of the rate of that take).
Non-consumptive takes are takes where the same amount of water is returned to the same water body at or near the location from which it was taken and no significant delay occurs between the taking and returning of the water.
Why have these rules been implemented?
Previously you were allowed to report your water take using a range of different methods. Some Councils allowed hand written records to be posted in, some required spreadsheets.
This made it difficult for the data to be assessed at a national level. Which made it harder to assess and manage demand.
More information
For more specific information, including a detailed explanation of the minimum requirements, visit the Ministry for the Environment website.
The regulations are monitored and enforced by regional councils. Contact your council directly for information relating to your region.
