On this page: Why we manage our region's rivers and catchments, what we are doing, management zones, zone management plans, Waihou Valley Scheme and Piako River Scheme funding systems review, effects of river and catchment management
The Waikato region has more than 16,000 kilometers of rivers and streams, and Waikato Regional Council is responsible for the overall management of the region’s rivers and their catchments, including the effects of flooding and erosion.
Well-managed streams and rivers benefit our region’s environment and economy.
Why we manage our region’s rivers and catchments
Our streams and rivers have changed dramatically since European settlement. They’ve been dammed, had water pumped out or diverted, waste discharged into them, and exotic plants and animals introduced. Catchment areas have also been greatly modified. Much of the native vegetation that would have once slowed the flow of water from hillsides and helped to hold hillsides together, has been cleared for agriculture, forestry and urban development.
River and catchment modification have contributed to increased flooding and erosion in our region. Flooding and erosion threaten people and property, access ways and communication channels, and limit land productivity. It’s important our waterways and catchments are managed to help minimise erosion and flooding, and the damage they cause.
What we are doing
Waikato Regional Council manages our region’s rivers and their catchments in partnership with local communities to control flooding and erosion and to help maintain stable rivers and streams.
Stream and river stability, soil stability and flooding are influenced by natural events and processes and people’s activities over an entire catchment. Therefore, it’s important that Waikato Regional Council looks at and manages the catchment as a whole. Our physical works and services need to consider landuse, hazard management and environmental requirements within the catchment.
Our river and catchment programmes focus on providing physical works, services and advice to land owners. We aim to:
- reduce the risk of soil erosion and flooding
- reduce the amount of sediment getting into waterways
- improve water quality
- improve river stability
- improve river environments, for example, creating a better habitat for a wider variety of plants and animals (improved biodiversity).
The Waikato Regional Council manages three main types of river and catchment works to help achieve the above aims:
- land management and soil conservation works
- river management works
- flood control works.
Land management and soil conservation works (often refered to as catchment management)
We give advice about land management to promote best farm and property management practices, including appropriate land use, stream protection, erosion control and soil conservation. Soil conservation works help to minimise erosion on hill slopes and along river and stream banks. They include retiring erosion-prone land from grazing, constructing debris dams and erosion control structures.
River management works
A river’s flow and course can be affected by bank erosion and the build up of debris, silt or gravel. River management works help to keep rivers flowing on course, and include:
- protecting and stabilising riverbanks, through fencing and planting and coordination of works along river banks
- controlling bank erosion, for example by using rock protection, groynes1 or other riverbank stabilisation works
- removing blockages
- undertaking river training works - ensuring the flow paths of rivers are kept on course
- undertaking gravel and sand management.
If you’ve got a river flowing through your property, find out about your responsibilities as a landowner in our River Management Guidelines.
Flood control works
The Waikato Regional Council is responsible for the provision and maintenance of the major flood control schemes throughout the greater Waikato region. Some of these areas are managed in conjunction with district councils. The schemes include large-scale works that aim to reduce flood risks such as, stopbanks, pump stations, floodgates and detention dams.
Other activities
The Waikato Regional Council operates a flood warning system, monitoring river levels and rainfall at over 50 automated recording sites. This enables us to warn land owners when our system alerts are activated by heavy rainfall and rising river levels.
Waikato Regional Council also develops and implements:
- zone management plans within a whole catchment management framework (includes asset management plans)
- environmental policies and guidelines for works and services
- Risk mitigation plans, which aim to minimise the effect of natural hazards (such as flooding) on the Waikato economy and community.
Management zones
Waikato Regional Council provides river and catchment services within eight management zones in the region. These include the Coromandel Peninsula, Waihou/Piako, Lake Taupo, Upper Waikato, Middle Waikato, Lower Waikato, Waipa and West Coast zones.
We also manage several major rivers including the Waihou and Ohinemuri river system, the Piako and Waitoa river system, the Waikato and Waipa river system as well as a large number of smaller rivers and streams.
Zone management plans
Zone management plans (ZMPs) are the primary tools for implementation of all river and catchment management activities within each zone. Each ZMP includes the following details:
- vision for the zone
- strategy to achieve the vision
- activities to implement the strategy
- set of services levels and performance standards for the activities
- financial strategies and funding arrangments.
Overview of River and Catchment Services - Waikato Region
Overview of River and Catchment Services - Waikato Region
This document provides an overview of river and catchment management within the region, and should be read alongside the ZMPs. The document outlines:
- the nature of the region and the key issues we face in the future
- how river and catchment activities are managed across the region
- responsibilites for river and catchment management
- how river and catchment management relates to other activities
- the legislative and policy requirements for river and catchment management
- how links with the community are developed and maintained.
Lower Waikato Zone Management Plan
Lower Waikato Zone Management Plan
The Lower Waikato zone consists of the Waikato River catchment between Ngaruawahia and the Tasman Sea. It covers an area of 283,757 hectares, which is 20 per cent of the total Waikato River catchment area.
Waihou Piako Zone Management Plan
Waihou Piako Zone Management Plan
The Waihou Piako zone covers an area of approximately 3,734 km², and is dominated by the Waihou and Piako river systems. It includes the catchments of the Miranda Coast up as far as Kaiaua, the Waitakaruru River, the Piako River, the Waihou River, the Kauaeranga River, the Thames streams and the Tararu Stream. It includes all of the land that drains into the Firth of Thames from Kaiaua in the west to Tararu in the east, the major portion of which is the Hauraki Plains and Thames Valley catchments.
Waihou Valley Scheme and Piako River Scheme funding systems review
The Waihou Valley Scheme and Piako River Scheme are comprehensive catchment, river and flood control schemes that cover the entire catchments of the Thames Valley and Hauraki Plains. The funding systems for the two schemes are being subject to a limited review. For full details click here.
Effects of river and catchment management
Social and economic effects
Soil conservation, river management, flood protection and drainage schemes are designed and constructed to protect land and property from erosion and flooding. The existing major schemes’ areas are prone to flooding from three different sources. These are the sea, the Waikato, Waihou and Piako Rivers and their tributaries as well as runoff from local catchments.
The effects of soil erosion and flooding can be severe, affecting land stability, water quality and land productivity, and ultimately the well-being of the zone communities.
The catchment and river services provided by Waikato Regional Council provide communities with security and peace of mind, creating social and economic stability within the zones.
Environmental effects
The schemes recognise in their design the importance of the key existing environmental features of the Waikato, Piako and Waihou catchment ecosystems. However, drainage and flood protection works have historically had some significant effects on the environment. While the overall impact is positive, the negative effects can not be ignored. These negative effects included reduction of flood plains, wetland areas and associated effects on habitat values.
Currently, best practice environmental guidelines are being developed and adopted for the river and catchment management activities. The objective is to progressively enhance and protect the environment from further deterioration while maintaining the benefits of the catchment, river and drainage services.
Cultural effects
The effects of service delivery on cultural aspects are of great importance to Waikato Regional Council. Most of the service delivery activities are carried within the river systems' environment, which have significant cultural and spiritual values to Maori and to the zone communities as a whole. The current service delivery approach is to avoid and/or minimise the effects on cultural values.
More information
Footnotes
1. Groynes are structures placed in rivers at right angles to the banks to direct flow and control erosion. They can be made of rock, timber or live willow trees.