Regional Plan: Water

The Regional Plan Water: for Otago, which became operative on 1 January 2004, is the primary document that manages water within the Otago region’s boundaries. It is a legal document that helps ORC manage water resources by regulating the environmental effects created by the use of water, activities in water bodies or discharges of contaminants into the environment. If you want to carry out an activity involving water, or a land use activity that may affect water, you must comply with the rules in the plan and any Plan Changes.

 

Purpose of the plan

The purpose of the plan is to promote the sustainable management of Otago's water resources. To achieve this, the plan has policies and methods (including rules) to address issues of use, development and protection of Otago's freshwater resources, including the beds and margins of water bodies.
  

Area covered by the plan

The plan covers all freshwater resources in Otago. These include Otago's lakes, rivers, groundwater and wetlands. The Water Plan does not cover coastal water except where activities on land may affect such water.
   

Why you should read the plan

If you're thinking of carrying out an activity involving freshwater or a land use activity that may affect water, in Otago, you should read the rules in the plan to see:

• If you can carry it out as a permitted activity,
• If you require a resource consent to carry it out, or
• If you cannot carry it out because it's a prohibited activity.
  
  

A resource consent is required for any activity the Water Plan describes as being a: controlled activity, restricted discretionary activity, discretionary or a non-complying activity.

   

Current water plan changes

   

Review of the Water Plan

On 31 October 2018, Council approved a full review of the Water Plan.  This review  will be incorporated into a new Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP), which will be notified by 31 December 2023.

Find out more about the Plan review and the new Land and Water Regional Plan.

   

Status of the current water plan including proposed changes and amendments

The table below shows the operative date of the Water Plan and lists changes to the plan since then.

Key Event	Date Notified	Date Decision Released	Date Operative
Regional Plan: Water for Otago (the Water Plan)	28 February 1998	7 July 2000	1 January 2004
Waitaki Catchment Water Allocation Regional Plan (please contact ECan for information on this plan)	19 February 2005	30 September 2005	3 July 2006
Plan Change 1A	17 August 2005	1 April 2006	1 August 2006
Plan Change 1B (Minimum Flows)	20 December 2008	31 October 2009	1 March 2010
Plan Change 1C (Water Allocation and Use)	20 December 2008	10 April 2010	1 March 2012
Plan Change 3A (Minimum Flow for Taieri River at Tiroiti)	26 June 2010	11 December 2010	1 May 2011
Plan Change 4A (Groundwater and North Otago Volcanic Aquifer)	18 September 2010	24 September 2011	1 March 2012
Amendment 1 (NPS Freshwater Management)	24 June 2011	24 June 2011	1 July 2011
Plan Change 2 (Regionally Significant Wetlands)	2 July 2011	12 May 2012	1 October 2013
Plan Change 6A (Water Quality) Plan Change 6A Archive	31 March 2012	20 April 2013	1 May 2014
Plan Change 4B (Groundwater allocation)	17 May 2014	13 December 2014	1 September 2015
Plan Change 4C (Groundwater management: Cromwell Terrace Aquifer)	16 August 2014	13 December 2014	1 September 2015
Plan Change 3B (Pomahaka Catchment minimum flow)	16 August 2014	14 February 2015	1 June 2015
Plan Change 3C (Waiwera Catchment minimum flow)	13 December 2014	8 August 2015	1 March 2016
Amendment 2 (NES Plantation Forestry) to the Regional Plan:Water	30 June 2018	30 June 2018	1 July 2018
Plan Change 6AA	5 October 2019	8 February 2020	16 May 2020
Amendment 3 (NPS Freshwater Management 2020) to the Regional Plan: Water	5 June 2021	5 June 2021	1 June 2021
Plan Change 5A (Lindis: Integrated water management)	8 August 2015	13 August 2016	5 March 2022
Plan Change 7 (Water Permits) to the Regional Plan: Water	18 March 2020	17 November 2021	5 March 2022
Proposed Water Plan Change 8 (Omnibus Plan Change)	6 July 2020	31 January 2022 and 21 April 2022 (for Primary sector provisions) 14 June 2022	4 June 2022 (Partially operative; Primary sector provisions) 3 September 2022 (Fully operative)

 

 

Download the Regional Plan: Water

The plan below includes all operative plan changes and amendments that are operative as at 5 March 2022.

You can download the full Plan or individual Chapters below.

Note: Differing dates on page footers and maps show when each page or sheet was last updated.

   

   

Regional Plan: Water (chapters 1 - 19)

Schedules (1 – 21) plus Glossary and Appendices

Maps

Order a copy

You can order a free paper copy of the Plan, Schedules and Maps or an electronic copy on USB for $10 (GST inclusive) by:

• Email policy@orc.govt.nz
• Phone 0800 474 082 or 03 474 0827