Quality of stormwater required
Stormwater should consist of clean rainwater. Waterways in urban, farming, and forestry areas are easily polluted by contaminants. This threatens our freshwater ecosystems and can make the water unsafe for us to use and enjoy.
Healthy waterways are important for many cultural practices, including exercising ahikaroa, kaitiakitanga, and mahinga kai.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council Regional Natural Resources Plan (RNPP) lists levels of contaminants permitted in stormwater - please refer to DW R20, page 36 of the plan.
Common waterway contaminants
| Sediment/gravel
| Degrades ecosystems by making water cloudy and smothering natural habitats on the bottoms and banks of rivers and lakes
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| Nutrients (such as nitrogen and phosphorus)
| Contribute to algal blooms that degrade rivers/lakes and reduce their cultural and recreational value
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| Heavy metals (such as copper and zinc)
| Accumulate in and threaten freshwater species. The metals can also make them unsafe for us to eat
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| Oils and hydrocarbons
| Threaten freshwater species and degrade water quality
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| Pathogens
| Threaten freshwater species and make people ill if they drink or swim in polluted water.
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If your site is well managed, with controls in place, the risk of contaminating our water can be low.
If water from your site is contaminated
Rotorua Lakes Council monitors water quality and if water is found to be contaminated, will conduct investigations to find the source of the contamination, which may include inspecting and sampling stormwater from your site.
If there are no issues with stormwater quality, there will be no charge for this sampling. If the stormwater leaving your site is found to be contaminated, the cost of inspecting and sampling may be passed on to the owner of the business operating on the site.
Rotorua Lakes Council will work with you to help you identify and remedy any contamination. If the risk remains high, then BOPRC will be informed. BOPRC may also require you to hold a resource consent for your stormwater discharge.
