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How it started
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We began this journey in 2019 when the Minister for the Environment asked the Otago Regional Council to prepare a new Regional Policy Statement and Land and Water Plan. Previous planning rules and regulations were no longer deemed fit to provide protection for Otago’s waterways and surrounding environment.
Between 2020 and 2022 we engaged with our community around the visions and values people wanted for our waterways and the land affecting them in this new, more in-depth Plan. We also spoke with communities about actions that would help us reach positive environmental outcomes – these were that Otago's freshwater and land activities need to be:
- Healthy for plants, animals, and people and look after our region for future generations
- Safe for activities like swimming
- Beneficial for activities like fishing
- Sustainably managed; and
- Respectful of cultural and historical places
The structure for the new LWRP will follow the format prescribed by the National Planning Standards, which requires the new LWRP organised into three separate parts.
Part 1 of the LWRP will contain sections that outline how the plan works and should be interpreted. It will also provide an overview of relevant National Direction Instruments and will include a Tangata Whenua section.
Part 2 will include sections on the integrated management of resources and on the region-wide and area-specific provisions.
Finally, separate schedules, appendices and maps will be included in Part 3. 
The Otago Regional Policy Statement (ORPS) gives us a framework to create policies and helps work out the priorities so we can make progress on significant resource management issues facing the region. You will sometimes see the Otago Regional Policy Statement referred to as "RPS".
The Land and Water Regional Plan sets out provisions and rules to enable the freshwater vision set out in the ORPS.
Otago Regional Policy Statements
The Regional Policy Statement (RPS) sets the direction for future management of Otago's natural and physical resources. It provides the foundation for the development of regional plans and district plans.
Regional Plan: Water for Otago
The Regional Plan: Water for Otago (the Water Plan) assists us in managing Otago's water resources.
The National Objectives Framework in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 sets out the process for all regional councils, with communities and tangata whenua, to manage freshwater in their regions.
National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020
Vision setting: How do you want your catchment to be in the future?
Te Mana o Te Wai hierarchy applied to all decision-making:
- 1st The health and wellbeing of waterbodies and freshwater ecosystems
- 2nd The health needs of people (such as drinking water)
- 3rd People and communities to provide for the social, economic and cultural wellbeing, now and in the future.
Image of a meandering path through a river landscape passing the following signposts and text.
- What are the values and desired outcomes for your river?
- Attributes: decide what to monitor and measure to tell you about the state of the river.
- Baseline state: what is the current state of your river?
- Target state: decide on whether to maintain or improve the state of the river and when this state should be achieved.
- Communities and tangata whenua are involved with the regional council at every step.
- Look after your rivers by setting limits and rules on resource use. Create and apply action plans.
- Monitor progress towards achieving the targets and environmental outcomes.
When the path reaches a fork there are two directions. One is signposted: Achieving vision. The other is signposted: Not achieving the vision. A signpost on this path reads: Take action to respond to degradation. This path then loops back to the main path at the signpost: Look after your rivers by setting limits and rules on resource use. Create and apply action plans.
Source: Ministry for the Environment
Te Mana o te Wai – the vital importance and health of our water – is part of Otago’s collective well-being and future sustainability. The health of some of our waterways is excellent, but others need improving. This is important because Otago’s waterways support all life from threatened native fish, the mahika kai we collect and the swimming holes we love, to how we earn our living and enjoy clean groundwater.
Te Mana o te Wai is about respecting and looking after the water, so the water can look after you. It also recognises that mana whenua, councils, water users and the wider community all have a role in managing freshwater.
The new Land and Water Plan will be based on a whole-of-catchment approach – ki uta ki tai – that is consistent with Te Mana o te Wai and prioritises the health and well-being of waterbodies.
The fundamental concept of Te Mana o te Wai and its use in the NOF
Ministry for the Environment (MfE) description of Te Mana o Te Wai and how it should be used (Clause 1.3)
National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020
The MfE National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (amended January 2024) requires that all freshwater management plans give effect to Te Mana o te Wai.
Regional Councils are required to involve communities and Tangata Whenua when developing the land and water regional plan.
In the first round of community engagement, we wanted to find out which waterbodies (lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands) are most important to Otago communities, what people value most about them, and what characteristics of waterbodies matter most. More than 560 people gave feedback, with the strongest values being:
- water quality
- non-contact recreation such as walking, camping and sightseeing
- swimming
- water take/use
Other values included:
- fishing
- aquatic species
- threatened species
- habitat
- ecosystems
- river flow
- lake level
- natural character
- wetlands
- groundwater
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback or came along to one of the community meetings to tell us what you want for land and water resources in our region.
We consulted the community to identify important values and develop objectives and limits for waterways in the Manuherekia.
We sought feedback on five scenarios for managing water in the Manuherekia, and received more than 1,000 submissions supporting a range of flow options for the river.
The scenarios were developed with input from the Manuherekia Reference Group, which has representatives from the Manuherekia Catchment Group, the Department of Conservation, Forest and Bird, Central Otago District Council, Fish and Game, the Central Otago Environmental Society, Southern District Health Board and ORC.
Following consultation, a proposed approach was presented to ORC Councillors in August 2021. ORC Councillors requested that more science work be done, and this is now underway.
View the May 2021 Manuherekia Management Scenarios consultation document.
View the Upper Lakes staff presentation here.
View the summary report of the Upper Lakes feedback received
Introduction by David Higgins on behalf of Kāi Tahu
Between October 25 and December 8 2022, we returned to the community presenting options for managing water and land in your FMU or rohe and achieving the things you value about waterways in your area.
Information was shared with you about the current state of your rivers and waterways
We also discussed possible environmental outcomes for the waterways in your area, the actions needed to get there, as well as the Government's national approach.
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback or came along to one of the community meetings to tell us what you want for land and water resources in our region.
Catlins
In the final round of community consultation, we went back to communities across Otago to discuss region-wide proposed new rules and regulations on a variety of topics, including:
- beds of lakes and rivers
- damming and diversion
- earthworks and drilling
- environmental flows and limits (water quantity)
- other discharges
- primary production
- stormwater management
- threatened species
- solid waste management
- wastewater management
- wetlands
Some new rules and regulations for individual FMUs/rohe were also proposed.
These included:
- environmental outcomes
- target attribute states
- FMU/rohe provisions
- environmental flows and levels and limits on take, diversion and damming of water
- lakes
- river catchments
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback or came along to one of the community drop-ins to tell us what you want for land and water resources in our region.
A region-wide online discussion was held on Friday, 6 October. The ORC team and councillors presented to the public about the proposed direction of the Land and Water Regional Plan, giving people the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback on the draft Plan.
You can watch the recorded online discussion below, along with downloading the presentation slides (PDF) from the discussion.
An online discussion was held on Tuesday, 10 October. The ORC team and councillors presented to the public about the proposed direction of the Land and Water Regional Plan, especially for the Queenstown area. People were given the opportunity to ask questions and give feedback on the draft Plan.
You can watch the recorded online discussion below, along with downloading the presentation slides (PDF) from the discussion.
What’s next?
The draft Plan will be formally notified as the ‘proposed’ LWRP. The ‘proposed’ Plan will be available later this year, when it is scheduled for ‘public notification’.
