REPORT Greater Wellington Regional Council

Transcription

1 REPORT Greater Wellington Regional Council Resource Consent Applications for River Management Activities in rivers of the Upper Wairarapa Valley & for Dry Gravel Extraction from selected river reaches in the Lower Wairarapa Valley Report prepared for: GREATER WELLINGTON REGIONAL COUNCIL Report prepared by: Tonkin & Taylor Ltd T&T Ref:

2 Table of contents Greater Wellington Regional Council Resource Consent Applications for River Management Activities in rivers of the Upper Wairarapa Valley & for Dry Gravel Extraction from selected river reaches in the Lower Wairarapa Valley 1 Introduction Application for resource consents Activities not requiring consent Wider context of this application Proposed adaptive management approach Structure and terms sought for new consents 15 2 Land ownership 18 3 Mana whenua 19 4 River management context River management schemes Floodplain management plans Current river management strategies Gravel extraction Development of annual works programmes 24 5 Existing works and activities Upper Ruamahanga River Ruamahanga Mt Bruce Scheme Ruamahanga Te Ore Ore Scheme Ruamahanga Gladstone Scheme Waingawa River Waipoua River Kopuaranga River Whangaehu River Taueru River Waiohine River Mangatarere Stream Kaipatangata Stream Enaki Stream Gravel extraction Area One Upper Ruamahanga catchment Waiohine River Kaipatangata Stream Gravel extraction Area Two 34 6 Existing river environment Geomorphology & sediment transport Hydrology Water quality Riparian vegetation Birds Aquatic vegetation Aquatic macroinvertebrates Fish 35 i i i Resource Consent Applications for River Management Activities in rivers of the Upper Wairarapa Valley& for Dry Gravel

3 6.9 Recreation Heritage & sites of cultural value Sites of cultural value 36 7 Proposed works Management approach Activities Gravel extraction 36 8 Consideration of alternatives 36 9 Assessment of environmental effects Consultation Statutory assessment Proposed consent conditions Conclusions Applicability 36 Appendix A: Application Forms i Appendix B: Certificates of Title i Appendix C: River management scheme plans and work records i Appendix D: Appendix E: Annex 1: Environmental Code of Practice & Monitoring Plan (working draft) i i i Figure 1: Application Area One Upper Wairarapa Valley (for Toolbox of activities) Figure 2: Application Area Two Lower Wairarapa Valley (for dry gravel extraction only) Figure 3: Adaptive management framework Figure 4: Location of significant gravel extraction sites in the 10 years prior to Source: (Harley, 2014) Figure 5: Waingawa River Gravel Extraction Source: (Harley, 2014) Figure 6: Ruamahanga River Te Ore Ore Reach Gravel Extraction Figure 7: Waipoua River Gravel Extraction History Source: (Harley, 2014) Table 1: Application Areas One & Two extent details Table 2: The toolbox of activities proposed for use in accordance with the Code of Practice Table 3: Regional resource consents required Table 4: Permitted Activities Table 5: GWRC s river management project work streams Table 6: Upper Wairarapa Valley River Management Schemes Summary information Table 7: Annual works programme development process Table 8: Upper Ruamahanga catchment gravel extraction limits and extracted volumes 2012/13. Source: (Harley, 2014) Resource Consent Applications for River Management Activities in rivers of the Upper Wairarapa Valley& for Dry Gravel

4 Executive summary Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) is seeking resource consents under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) to allow for the continuance of its river management activities in two areas of the Wairarapa Valley as follows: Area One, covering selected parts of the beds and banks of the rivers of the Ruamahanga River catchment above the Waiohine River confluence, and parts of the beds and banks of the Waiohine River and its tributaries (the Mangatarere, Kaipatangata and Enaki Streams). Six drain management systems located in the upper Ruamahanga River catchment which are managed by GWRC are also included in this application area. Area Two, covering only the dry beaches in selected reaches of several rivers in the Lake Wairarapa and Lake Onoke catchments and Ruamahanga River catchment below the Waiohine River confluence. The new consents being sought are intended to replace six existing resource consents held by GWRC which are due to expire. These existing consents currently allow for flood protection activities in parts of the Waiohine River, Mangatarere and Kaipatangata Streams, the Waingawa, Waipoua and Upper Ruamahanga Rivers, and also gravel extraction from beaches throughout the entire Ruamahanga River catchment. GWRC seeks for the new consents to cover these areas and also to include parts of the Kopuaranga, Whangaehu and Taueru Rivers, Enaki Stream (a tributary of Mangatarere Stream) and six drainage schemes in the upper Wairarapa Valley which are not currently subject to any resource consents for flood protection activities. This application for new consents offers GWRC river managers the opportunity to set in place a revised approach to the management of the rivers of the upper Wairarapa Valley, which provides for greater commitment to improvement of the river environment, in conjunction with necessary and on-going flood protection and erosion control to protect the productive land and urban areas through which the rivers flow. To date, GWRC s river management activities have been controlled by consents that have contained a wide array of prescriptive conditions, and in particular, detailed limits on activities such as the length of rock lining, bed recontouring and amounts of gravel extraction in any one year. GWRC seeks an improvement to this regime, and thus is proposing a slightly different approach to the structure of the new consents, which aims to put in place meaningful controls on adverse effects while allowing for an increase in understanding of those effects. GWRC s river management approach is based fundamentally on the concept of a design alignment for the river, which consists of a fairway channel (i.e. the channel that would be fully covered by water in a large flood event) and buffer zones containing edge protection works and plantings either side of the fairway. All the activities that GWRC undertakes in the rivers are primarily focused on the establishment and maintenance of this design alignment. In recent years, it has been increasingly recognised by GWRC river managers that although the design alignment imposes a level of unnatural control on the river form, it is possible to design it in such a way that allows the river to form channels within the design alignment in a way that reflects the river s natural character. This can be achieved by using both the edge protection works and instream works to guide the form of the river channels into a desired meander pattern that has been calculated from actual measurements of the river s Resource Consent Applications for River Management Activities in rivers of the Upper Wairarapa Valley& for Dry Gravel

5 form in unmanaged reaches. This is regarded as desirable because improvement in the geomorphic form or natural character of a river is assumed to have flow-on benefits for the aquatic habitat diversity within the river, and by extension, the fish and invertebrates using that habitat. If such benefits can be achieved, then this may also deliver positive outcome in terms of cultural and recreational values. GWRC is committed to improving its practices to achieve better environmental outcomes, and to collecting information which will inform decisions relating to this. To this end, it has revised and updated its Code of Practice (COP), particularly the how to descriptions for individual river management activities, which collectively form it s toolbox. GWRC is seeking for the new consents to allow for the full toolbox of activities to be available for use, with decisions on the particular mix of activities to be made by river managers, taking into account the particular values or sensitivities of the river and/or reach/site in question. This requires on-going information gathering and data collection to identify and quantify those values and include them in the COP. GWRC has also developed an Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMP), which forms part of the COP. This contains proposals for on-going investigations into the effects of selected activities, so as to build a database of information over time which can be used to evaluate those activities and make decisions about their on-going effectiveness and use. To enable improvement and innovation over time, GWRC needs to have the ability to respond to the outcomes of monitoring and to new information or research by changing its practice, once that information has been appropriately considered and evaluated. This would more easily be facilitated if the new consents were to authorise the continuance of its river management activities, not according to a set of prescriptive consent conditions that are fixed in time, but according to the Code of Practice and Environmental Monitoring Plan, and the regular review process that forms part of it. This review process will involve science advisers, mana whenua and other interested parties or stakeholders, and will inform updates and changes to the Code and EMP over time. With such a rolling review in place, the need to continually review the actual consent becomes redundant, provided that commitment to the review of the Code and EMP is assured. Hence the term of the consent becomes far less important than the process that it authorises and hence GWRC is seeking the maximum allowable term of 35 years for the new consents. A key issue for the EMP is the testing of the idea that an improvement in the overall natural character of the river leads to overall environmental and ecological benefits, despite the fact that individual activities may produce short-term adverse effects at specific sites within the river environment. To enable this, a means of measuring natural character in a quantitative way is required, and to this end GWRC has been supporting work undertaken by Massey University to develop a natural character index or NCI which can be used for this purpose. Although in its developmental phases, GWRC is keen to progress this work as a new and innovative tool for river management and monitoring. As well as providing opportunities for increased collaboration between interested groups, adoption of the adaptive management approach will require compromises from all parties. For example, it requires ratepayers to accept that there may be increased costs involved with river management; it requires river managers to accept greater scrutiny of their practices and to be open to change; it requires ecologists and mana whenua to accept that some short-term adverse effects may be unavoidable in the achievement of longer term improvement. GWRC is very hopeful that the new resource consents can deliver a mechanism for achieving real improvements in both river management and environmental outcomes going Resource Consent Applications for River Management Activities in rivers of the Upper Wairarapa Valley& for Dry Gravel

6 forward, which may well provide a model for other river managers around the country to emulate. Resource Consent Applications for River Management Activities in rivers of the Upper Wairarapa Valley& for Dry Gravel

7 1 1 Introduction 1.1 Application for resource consents Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) seeks resource consents under sections 9, 13, 14 and 15 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) to undertake activities in two areas of the Wairarapa Valley as follows: Area One, covering: selected parts of the beds and banks of the rivers of Te Kauru (i.e. the catchment of the Ruamahanga River above the Waiohine River confluence) parts of the beds and banks of the Waiohine River and its tributaries (the Mangatarere, Kaipatangata and Enaki Streams) Area Two, covering: Dry beaches in selected reaches of several rivers in the Lake Wairarapa and Lake Onoke catchments and Ruamahanga River catchment downstream of the Waiohine River confluence. The two application areas are shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2. Area One includes the beds and banks of the rivers covered by nine current river management schemes, and a few river reaches outside these scheme areas which are also maintained by GWRC under its isolated works or gravel management policies 1. Area Two includes the entire main stem of the Ruamahanga River bed below the Waiohine confluence, plus reaches of three of its tributaries (Huangarua River catchment, Dry River and Tauanui River), reaches within four rivers flowing to Lake Wairarapa and reaches of two rivers flowing to Lake Onoke. Further details are given in Table 1. The new consents are intended to replace six existing resource consents that currently allow for flood protection activities in parts of the Waiohine River, Mangatarere and Kaipatangata Streams, the Waingawa, Waipoua and Upper Ruamahanga Rivers, and also gravel extraction from beaches throughout the entire Ruamahanga River catchment. The new application covers these areas and also extends over parts of the Kopuaranga, Whangaehu and Taueru Rivers and Enaki Stream (a tributary of Mangatarere Stream), which are not currently subject to any resource consents for flood protection activities. The activities proposed in Area One are as follows: Flood protection and erosion control works and maintenance activities (including gravel extraction), and river corridor management activities. GWRC requests that the resource consents for Area One will provide for the complete toolbox of flood protection operations and maintenance activities, as listed in Table 2, to be available for use. It is proposed that the consent conditions relating to these activities will require them to be selected and undertaken in accordance with GWRC s Environmental Code of Practice and Monitoring Plan for Flood Protection Activities (COP), with details around limits and restrictions on activities to be prescribed in the COP rather than in the conditions of consent. In addition, GWRC also seeks for the consent conditions to require the adoption of an adaptive management approach which involves a programme of on-going monitoring of the effects of selected activities (as presented in an 1 Note that maintenance works in the Drainage Schemes within the Wairarapa Valley are not included in the application.

8 2 Environmental Monitoring Plan or EMP which is incorporated in the COP). This will enable better understanding of the effects of the activities undertaken and will inform changes to the COP over time via an agreed consultative review process, which is explained further in Section 1.4. A term of 35 years is proposed for these consents, as explained further in Section 1.5. Flood protection activities in the toolbox that must be authorised by resource consent under rules in the operative regional plans are given in Table 3. A working draft of the COP & Environmental Monitoring Plan is attached to this report as Annex 1. It is stressed that in seeking authorisation of the full toolbox GWRC does not intend to create an expectation that all methods available in the toolbox will necessarily be employed over the life of the consent; nor does it imply that the level of service currently provided under each current river management scheme will necessarily alter. Rather, the primary intention is to ensure that the Council is able to select the most appropriate method or methods at any time over the life of the consent to provide appropriate and environmentally acceptable responses to flood and erosion control issues. The activities proposed in Area Two are limited to: Gravel extraction from dry river beds. This application seeks to authorise the continuation of gravel extraction in the Lower Ruamahanga catchment from beaches above the actively flowing channels ( dry extraction ). A term of approximately 12 years is proposed for this consent so that its expiry coincides with the expiry of the current resource consent for flood protection activities in the lower Ruamahanga River and Lake Wairarapa catchments 2. This will allow for gravel extraction in this area to be reconsidered as part of the renewal of these Lower Valley consents and in the context of a Lower Valley Floodplain Management Plan process, which has yet to commence. The prescribed resource consent Application Forms are included in Appendix A, and the following report contains the information necessary to support these applications and fulfil the requirements of section 88 of the RMA, including an assessment of environmental effects (AEE). Administrative details are included below. Applicant Wellington Regional Council 3 Owners of application site Site address / map reference The Crown, Wellington Regional Council, Masterton, Carterton & South Wairarapa District Councils and others. Certificates of Title are included in Appendix B 4. Area One: The beds and banks of rivers in the selected rivers of the Upper Wairarapa Valley see Table 1 for details Area Two: Dry beaches within the beds of selected rivers in the Lower Wairarapa Valley see Table 1 for 2 Consent WAR authorises flood protection works and maintenance activities within the Lower Wairarapa Valley Development Scheme area. It expires on 30 September Note that this is the correct legal name for the regional council. Elsewhere in this application document, the council is referred to by its promotional name of Greater Wellington Regional Council. 4 The official copy of the application includes a Schedule of the Certificates of Title and copies of each title; other copies only include the Schedule.

9 3 details RMA Regional Plans RMA District Plans Address for service and invoicing Regional Freshwater Plan for the Wellington Region Regional Soil Plan for the Wellington Region Combined Wairarapa District Plan (Masterton, Carterton & South Wairarapa District Councils) Greater Wellington Regional Council Flood Protection Department Attention: Tracy Berghan

10 1 Figure 1: Application Area One Upper Wairarapa Valley (for Toolbox of activities)

11 1 Figure 2: Application Area Two Lower Wairarapa Valley (for dry gravel extraction only)

12 2 Table 1: Application Areas One & Two extent details Upstream extent Downstream extent Area River Managed Reach/Scheme NZTM Grid reference NZTM Grid Reference Length of waterway (km) Easting Northing Easting Northing One Ruamahanga River Upper Ruamahanga -Mt Bruce Scheme Upper Ruamahanga Te Ore Ore Scheme Upper Ruamahanga Gladstone Scheme Kopuaranga River Kopuaranga Scheme Waipoua River Waipoua Scheme km section upstream of Scheme Waingawa River Waingawa Scheme Whangaehu River Whangaehu Scheme Taueru River Taueru Scheme Waiohine River Waiohine/Mangatarere Scheme km upstream of Scheme Mangatarere Stream Waiohine/Mangatarere Scheme Upstream scheme Kaipatangata Stream Waiohine/Mangatarere Scheme Gravel management reach Enaki Stream Waiohine/Mangatarere Scheme

13 3 Two Ruamahanga River Main stem from the end of Area One to Lake Onoke Huangarua River & tributaries Forest Park to Ruamahanga confluence Whole catchment* Dry River Limeworks to Ruamahanga confluence Tauanui River Waiorongomai River Tauherenikau River Donalds Creek/Abbots Creek Cross Creek Turanganui River Pounui Stream Upper catchment to Ruamahanga confluence (Lake Wairarapa catchment) Western Lake Rd to delta (Lake Wairarapa catchment) Gorge to Lake Wairarapa (Lake Wairarapa catchment) Featherston to Lake Wairarapa (Lake Wairarapa catchment) Western Lake Rd to delta (Lake Onoke catchment) Whakatomotomo Rd end to delta (Lake Onoke catchment) Western Lake Rd to delta * In this context whole catchment means the catchment from the point at which the river emerges from the steep hill country Whole catchment* Whole catchment* Whole catchment* Whole catchment* Whole catchment* Whole catchment* Whole catchment*

14 4 Table 2: The toolbox of activities proposed for use in accordance with the Code of Practice Activity Location General Activity Type Individual Activities In or on the beds of rivers in Area One full toolbox Construction & maintenance of Impermeable Erosion Protection Structures Construction & maintenance of Permeable Erosion Protection Demolition and removal of existing structures Maintenance of existing outlet structures Channel shaping or realignment Rock & block groynes Gravel groynes & training banks Rock lining (rockline, rip-rap, toe rock) Gabion baskets Gabion structures Reno mattresses Grade control structures Debris fences Permeable groynes Debris arrester Impermeable structures Permeable structures Structural repairs to, cleaning and clearance of: Existing culverts and floodgate structures that discharge directly to the river/waterbody Mechanical: Beach ripping Beach recontouring Channel diversion cut Ripping of the bed in the active (flowing) channel Bed recontouring in the active (flowing) channel Bank contouring & reconstruction Channel capacity maintenance Beach scalping Removal of flood debris Gravel extraction from dry beaches Gravel extraction from the active (flowing) channel Mechanical clearing of drains Mechanical clearing of minor watercourses

15 5 Activity Location General Activity Type Individual Activities Outside the beds of rivers in Area One full toolbox In the beds of the river reaches in Area Planting Willow poles & stakes Construction & maintenance of vegetative (willow) structures Layered willows Tree groynes Tethered willows Maintenance of riparian vegetation Mechanical mowing of banks & berms from the river bed Trimming & mulching of bankside vegetation (while operating from the river bed) Construction of structures and tracks on berms Construction of: Floodwalls Footbridges Fences Access ways Cycle ways Walk ways and associated new stormwater drains and culverts Maintenance of berms, structures and Structural repairs to, and maintenance of: tracks Berms Stopbanks & training banks Floodwalls Footbridges Fences Access ways, cycle ways, walk ways Stormwater drains Stormwater culverts (including clearance of debris) Planting on berms Tree planting native Tree planting - willow Maintenance of riparian vegetation Trimming and mulching of trees (from outside the river bed) Removal of old trees Mowing stopbanks & berms (not involving machinery in river bed) Channel capacity maintenance Gravel extraction from beaches in the river bed, above actively flowing channels

16 6 Activity Location General Activity Type Individual Activities Two dry gravel extraction only

17 7 Table 3: Regional resource consents required Location Type of resource consent sought Relevant Regional Plan & Rule(s) Activities covered by Regional Plan rules Area One Land Use Regional Freshwater Plan (RFP): Rule 43 Maintenance, repair, replacement extension, addition to, or alteration of any structure Rule 44 Removal or demolition of structures Rule 47 Placement & use of any river crossing on specified rivers Rule 48 Placement of impermeable erosion protection structures (which are part of an FMP or river control scheme) Rule 49 All remaining uses of river beds Construction in/on river beds of: - impermeable erosion protection structures (rock groynes, riprap or gabion) - rock/concrete grade control structures - drainage channels and minor culverts associated with walkway developments Construction of gravel groynes, training banks in river bed Construction in/on river beds of permeable erosion protection structures: - debris fences - debris arresters Maintenance, repair, replacement, extension, addition, alteration of structures on river beds (including associated disturbance of, or deposition on, river beds & temporary diversion of water) Demolition and removal of structures from river beds (including associated disturbance of, or deposition on, river beds) Placement of river crossings (including disturbance of, deposition on river beds or diversion of water) on specified rivers Kaipatangata Stream, Kopuaranga River, Mangatarere Stream, Ruamahanga River, Waingawa River, Waiohine River, Waipoua River, Whangaehu River, Taueru River) Layering & tethering of willows in the river beds Placement of cabled willows/tree groynes in river beds Mechanical ripping of river beds (including in the flowing channel) Cutting of diversion channels (excavation) in river beds Mechanical recontouring of the river beds (including in the flowing channel) Mechanical shaping and repair of bank edges (including deposition of material on river bed) Removal of sediment and aquatic vegetation from the beds of streams not classified as drains

18 8 Location Type of resource consent sought Relevant Regional Plan & Rule(s) Activities covered by Regional Plan rules Extraction of gravel: - from above the flowing channel (dry beaches) and flowing channels in rivers above the Waiohine confluence Construction of footbridges > 6 m long Operation of machinery in river beds for all the above purposes (and for permitted activities) Entry & passage on river beds for operations & maintenance purposes (including by machinery) Disturbance of river beds & deposition of material on river beds associated with all of the above activities (including for formation of access) Undertaking of urgent works in river beds Land Use Regional Soil Plan (RSP): Rules 1,2 & 4 Any works on banks & berms (i.e. not in river bed) that do not meet permitted activity rules & conditions; this may include: - Repairs etc. of banks, berms and stopbanks - Construction of earth training banks (not in river bed) - Construction of walkways or cycle ways on the river berms - Disturbance of vegetation on berms - Removal of material from river berms for the purpose of increasing flood carrying capacity Water Permit RFP Rule 16 Damming or diversion of water associated with the above activities as necessary Discharge Permit RFP Rule 5 Discharge to the river of silt and sediments associated with: - all construction works - all maintenance works - all demolition works - all permitted activity works (including planting, beach recontouring & ripping, vegetation & flood debris removal) - all urgent works in the river beds. Discharge of stormwater into surface water associated with works on banks & berms outside the river bed

19 9 Location Type of resource consent sought Relevant Regional Plan & Rule(s) Area Two Land Use RFP Rule 49 All remaining uses of river beds Activities covered by Regional Plan rules Extraction of gravel from dry beaches only in river beds below the Waiohine confluence, and associated disturbance of bed.

20 Activities not requiring consent The flood protection toolbox includes some activities for which resource consent is not required. These include some of the activities in Table 3 which are classified in the operative regional plans as permitted activities below a certain threshold, and/or activities that are prescribed as permitted activities provided that certain conditions are met. These activities are listed in Table 4. Table 4: Permitted Activities RFP Rule 1 Relevant Plan & Rules Discharge of water (other than stormwater) and minor contaminants RFP Rule 2 Discharge of stormwater into surface water RFP Rule 9 Minor diversion of water from intermittently flowing stream RFP Rule 9A Diversion of water from an artificial watercourse or drain RFP Rule 22 Maintenance, repair etc. of structures RFP Rule 23 Extensions of linear rock protection RFP Rule 24 Placement of vegetative bank protection structures RFP Rule 25 River crossings in intermittently flowing streams Activities covered Cleaning & water blasting of structures Stormwater discharges arising from works areas on berms (provided it doesn t originate from an area of bulk earthworks greater than 0.3 ha) Diversion of less than 1.5 m 3 /s of fresh water & associated disturbance of river bed, associated with placement of a structure in an intermittently flowing stream Diversion of water from an artificial watercourse or drain associated with construction or maintenance work in the drain Minor maintenance works on structures & associated disturbance of river bed Minor extensions of width & length to existing riprap & associated river bed disturbance Placement of cabled willows extending no more than the lesser of 5 m or 10% of the total stream width. (NB - Crack willow is allowed if already predominant on river margin) Placement of culverts, weirs, fords, small bridges in intermittently flowing streams, including any associated disturbance of or deposition on bed or temporary diversion. (NB a ford is defined as any modification of the bed to establish a crossing by which any vehicle or persons may traverse) RFP Rule 27 Sediment retention weirs in intermittently flowing streams RFP Rule 31 The erection and maintenance of any bridge over a river bed (less than 6m in length)

21 11 RFP Rule 33 Removal or demolition of structures RFP Rule 35 Entry or passage across river bed not covered by any use specified in Rules or s13 of the Act RFP Rule 36 Clearance of flood debris RFP Rule 37 Beach recontouring RFP Rule 39 Maintenance of drains (as defined by RFP) RFP Rule 40 Removal of vegetation from river bed (& any associated disturbance of, deposition on, river bed or temporary diversion) RFP Rule 41 Planting (& any associated disturbance of, deposition on, river bed or temporary diversion) Removal or demolition of structures provided they are not being replaced, or involving disturbance of < 10 m 3 of river bed material Passage across a river bed for access Disturbance of river beds associated with clearance of flood debris Recontouring of beaches in the river bed to remedy or mitigate effects of flood or erosion. Would include ripping. Removal of vegetation & associated sediment from drains for the purpose of maintaining original grade or cross section of the channel Removal of vegetation from river bed (including cutting of stakes and poles for replanting) Trimming, cutting or removal of trees on river margins (and that are rooted in the river bed) Would include scalping to remove vegetation on the surfaces of river beaches Planting in river beds for flood protection purposes. (NB crack willow is permitted on river margins where already predominant) RFP Rule 42 Urgent Works RSP Rule 1 Roading & tracking east of Ruamahanga River resulting in new upslope batter less than 200 m or less than 1.5 m vertical height Roading & tracking west of the Ruamahanga River resulting in new upslope batter less than 200 m or less than 2 m vertical height RSP Rule 2 Soil disturbance on erosion prone land ( > 23⁰ east of Ruamahanga River ; > 28⁰ west of Ruamahanga River), other than that associated with roading & tracking, that disturbs less than 1000 m 3 of soil within any 10,000 m 2 area Urgent works within 10 days of a natural hazard event, including: Repair of any bank protection works Recontouring of the river beds & associated disturbance of or deposition on the river beds Construction of walkways or cycle ways on the river berms (outside of the river beds) Repairs of stopbanks and berms (outside the river beds) Recontouring on berms Lowering berms

22 12 RSP Rule 3 Vegetation disturbance on erosion-prone land, provided vegetation is re-established within 18 months Clearance of vegetation on steep banks, mowing of some berms In addition, the toolbox /COP includes some activities not restricted by the RMA or regulated by the operative regional plans; these include: Erection of fences & other structures on berms Track creation on land under the RSP Rule 1 thresholds Vegetation clearance & soil disturbance on slopes lower than the erosion-prone land thresholds. It is GWRC s intention that all flood protection activities will be undertaken in accordance with good environmental practice, as outlined in the COP, regardless of whether the activities are permitted or require resource consent.

23 Wider context of this application This application for resource consents is one component of a wider GWRC consent renewal and river management project, which covers eight current flood protection operations and maintenance consents and three gravel extraction consents, all due for renewal between April 2013 and September The existing consents are spread between rivers in the western and eastern parts of the Wellington Region. The project comprises five work streams as detailed in Table 5. This application falls within the ambit of Work Stream 1. Table 5: GWRC s river management project work streams Work Stream Description Details Timetable & progress 1 Re-consenting GWRC s existing operations and maintenance resource consents in the western and eastern parts of the region. 2 Waingawa River Short-term Resource Consent 3 Monitoring of environmental effects of activities and development of a regional Environmental Monitoring Plan The existing western rivers consents cover: Hutt River [WGN and WGN ] Stokes Valley Stream [WGN ] Waikanae River [WGN ] Otaki River [WGN ] and Wainuiomata River [WGN ] The existing eastern rivers consents cover: Waingawa River [WAR ] Waiohine River, Mangatarere Stream, Kaipatangata Stream [WAR ] Waipoua River [WAR000364] Upper Ruamahanga River [WAR000365] Ruamahanga River [WAR ] Kaipatangata Stream [WAR ] Application was made in 2012 and consent granted in May 2013 for a short-term consent to enable flood protection works in the Waingawa River to continue until the Floodplain Management Plan (FMP) work for this river (currently underway see Work Stream 5) is sufficiently advanced to support a long-term consent application. This is to enable better understanding of the effects of flood protection works and activities. A Science Group drawn from external and internal parties, including representatives from Department of Conservation, Fish & Game NZ, Massey University, GWRC Biodiversity and Science staff, and involving a consultant ecologist and a consultant river engineer, has been established by GWRC to assist development of the EMP and provide feedback and input into the consent applications noted in Work Stream 1. Work on re-consenting the western consents started in April 2012; seven smaller tributaries of the Hutt, Waikanae and Otaki Rivers are included. All consent applications were lodged as at October Work on the eastern consents commenced in late 2014 and is the subject of this application. This consent [WAR ] expires 30 September 2015 and the re-consenting of it is included in this application (see Work Stream 1 above). GWRC funded annual trout surveys by Fish & Game NZ in the Hutt and Waikanae Rivers have continued. A draft EMP has been produced that expands on initial environmental monitoring of aquatic ecology associated with gravel extraction activities in the Hutt River, and regional river bird surveys. Investigations are underway

24 14 4 Environmental Code of Practice 5 Floodplain Management Plans Update of GWRC s existing Environmental Code of Practice. The new Code of Practice (COP) will be region-wide and will inform all activities undertaken by GWRC. FMPs already exist for the Hutt, Waikanae and Otaki Rivers. Development of FMPs for the Waiohine River, Mangatarere Stream & tributaries (Enaki & Kaipatangata Streams) and those rivers in Te Kauru (the upper part of the Wairarapa Valley) including the Kopuaranga, Waingawa, Waipoua, Whangaehu, Taueru Rivers and the upper reaches of the Ruamahanga River) into the development of a Natural Character Index or NCI. Work on it continues and the EMP forms part of the COP that is also under development. A draft COP was prepared for inclusion with the western rivers consent applications, and is included as Annex 1 to this application. Initial comment from iwi and some key stakeholders has been sought and considered in the development of this draft, and it is anticipated that further development of the Code will continue in response to on-going consultation throughout the processing of the resource consent applications, and beyond. The Waiohine FMP process commenced in 2009 and Phase 3 (selection of a sustainable solution) was signed off in late Refinement of the preferred option is currently underway. Scoping for the Te Kauru Floodplain Management Plan (TKFMP) was undertaken in 2012, and Phase 1 of the FMP process investigations & establishment of context) was approved in October Phase 2 (identification & assessment of management options) is underway. The FMP is expected to be in place by late The TKFMP includes the Waingawa River, for which a separate FMP was initially being developed.

25 Proposed adaptive management approach The need for operations and maintenance work in many of Wellington s rivers is constant and ongoing. However, the type of work that is undertaken has changed over time, and will continue to change, in response to the changing needs of the particular flood protection scheme or floodplain management plan (based on community expectation, any established agreements between local government agencies and on the dynamics of the river) and in response to different management philosophies. Over time, it has been increasingly recognised that operational works can often be undertaken in ways that reduce impacts on the ecology of the river and on recreational uses. The individual types of operational activities collectively form a tool-box available for GWRC to use in the day-to-day management of the river. The specific methods to address an individual issue are selected by river managers based on experience and knowledge of the suitability of those methods in that particular situation. GWRC proposes an adaptive management approach to the undertaking of flood protection works under the new resource consents, to reflect its commitment to develop and improve its river management practices in response to new knowledge. Central to the proposal is the idea that the new and comprehensive COP (noted in Work Stream 4 above) will be used in conjunction with the updated EMP to guide and direct GWRC s works and maintenance activities that are currently undertaken under the annual plans for individual river schemes, and which will eventually be undertaken under the Te Kauru/Upper Ruamahanga and other FMP s. In particular, the COP will provide specific detail and direction on the methodology to be adopted for individual activities. It will be a living document that reflects current good practice. GWRC proposes that the programme of research and monitoring of the environmental effects of activities (such as bed recontouring and gravel extraction in particular) in the rivers it manages, noted in Work Stream 3 above, will be on-going. The outcomes of this monitoring will be subject to evaluation and review which in turn will lead to adjustments to the COP, via an agreed process, which is illustrated in Figure 3 and described in further detail in the COP & EMP in Annex 1. For the adaptive management approach to work effectively, GWRC seeks for the new resource consents to acknowledge and require its adoption, including the requirement for activities to be undertaken in accordance with the COP rather than by detailed consent conditions 5. It is therefore intended that much of the detail and prescription for the methods to be employed will be included in the COP, rather than in the resource consent itself. The COP will be a living document representing good environmental practice. It will be supported by an on-going programme of investigation and monitoring and amended accordingly. Such an approach will allow greater flexibility to test and refine methods, allow for innovation and improvement of practice over time without the need to vary and/or seek new resource consents. 1.5 Structure and terms sought for new consents Area One Since the introduction of the Resource Management Act (RMA) in 1991, GWRC has been required to undertake its rivers works and maintenance activities according to resource consents that have been used to prescribe and set the parameters for these activities. To date, the terms granted for these consents have been less than the maximum 35 year term allowed under the RMA. 5 It is acknowledged that consent conditions for gravel extraction in the Lower Wairarapa Valley may need to be more specific until this activity is addressed in more detail as part of FMP development for this area.

26 16 The rationale for limiting previous consents to shorter terms appears to have been principally to allow for a significant re-evaluation of them, and particularly the environmental effects of the activities they relate to, every 15 or so years. If the new consents authorise activities to be undertaken in accordance with the COP and allow for the proposed adaptive management process, the need for periodic review of the consents themselves is significantly reduced. Adoption of the proposed adaptive management process will also enable relevant information and decisions arising from the Waiohine FMP & TKFMP processes currently underway to be incorporated into the COP & EMP on a progressive basis. For these reasons it is therefore considered appropriate to apply the maximum allowable term of 35 years to the new consents for the rivers of the Upper Ruamahanga & Waiohine catchments. Area Two Development of an FMP for the rivers in the lower parts of the Wairarapa Valley has not yet commenced. It is considered more appropriate at this stage therefore, to adopt a more traditional approach to gravel extraction in this area by limiting this management tool to the current practice of extraction from dry beaches only, until such time as it can be considered in more detail as part of the FMP development for the Lower Wairarapa Valley. For this reason, a term of approximately 12 years is proposed for the new dry gravel extraction consent for Area Two, to coincide with expiry of resource consent WAR for flood protection works in the lower part of the Wairarapa Valley on 30 September 2027.

27 17 Figure 3: Adaptive management framework

28 18 2 Land ownership Certificates of Title for the application area are included in Appendix B. Further details to be added once titles are available

29 19 3 Mana whenua There are two iwi with mana whenua 6 status in the Wairarapa Valley: Ngati Kahungungu ki Wairarapa and Rangitane o Wairarapa. The relationship that both iwi have to the rivers, wetland and floodplains of the area is both physical and spiritual and encompasses interests that are both historic and contemporary (Carter, 2014). Rangitane o Wairarapa is represented by Rangitane o Wairarapa Inc., which is a mandated iwi authority for purposes of the RMA. Kahungungu ki Wairarapa Inc. is a legally established organisation responsible to the Ngati Kahungungu people of Wairarapa, which receives its mandate to operate from the collective Ngati Kahungungu marae and hapu, known as Te Kotaihitanga. Both iwi are currently in the process of settling Treaty of Waitangi claims. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Maori had a clearly structured system of resource management. Today tangata whenua seek to continue to manage resources in accordance with these traditional practices and values. Kaitiakitanga is a holistic management framework for ensuring human interaction with the natural environment occurs in a respectful way, consistent with the whakapapa connections between all things. Exercised effectively, it ensures that resources are utilised in a way that provides for both current and future generations and show respect for those who came before (Carter, 2014). A key way that kaitiakitanga is given effect to is through the interactions (both formal and informal) between tangata whenua and GWRC. Formal interaction between tangata whenua and GWRC is currently conducted through the following: A Memorandum of Partnership (MOP - which sets out the principles for conduct of the relationship between tangata whenua and GWRC that stems from the Treaty of Waitangi and is prescribed in legislation including the Treaty of Waitangi Act (1975) and the Resource Management Act (1991). Ara Tahi Leadership Committee a formal partnership of tangata whenua and council leaders, dealing with high level and strategic issues Te Upoko Taiao Natural Resource Management Committee consisting of an equal number of iwi nominated members and councillors, providing oversight of the development and monitoring of regional plans and regulatory matters Ruamahanga Whaitua one of five catchment based whaitua or zone groups set up in response to the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management 2011, to identify water quality and flow limits and develop recommendations for their achievement. The Wairarapa River Management Agreement (2011) an agreement between tangata whenua and GWRC (Flood Protection Department), Department of Conservation and Fish & Game NZ to provide for an agreed way of working to support the monitoring and improvement of recreation, cultural and wildlife values of the Waiohine, Waingawa, Waipoua and Upper Ruamahanga Rivers while providing also for ongoing flood and erosion protection work through their scheme reaches. The Gravel Guardians - a group to promote the sustainable management of gravel resources, set up as a result of a protocol between the Wellington Regional Council, tangata whenua and Federated Farmers that arose from the Council s 2001 resource consent for gravel extraction from the Ruamahanga River system. The protocol has now expired. 6 Mana whenua refers to the people who have local tribal or sub-tribal authority over an area.

30 20 The Te Kauru and Waiohine Floodplain Management Committees (which include iwi representatives). The adaptive management approach to this consent, described in Section 1.4 above, provides another important way in which kaitiakitanga can be expressed. The proposed approach includes a formal and on-going process of consultation with iwi, whereby information from environmental monitoring and iwi experience and knowledge can be shared and discussed, and decisions made as to changes to the COP over time.

31 21 4 River management context The requirement to address the flood and erosion hazards associated with rivers is enshrined in legislation 7, with GWRC assuming responsibility for this function in the Wellington Region. Flood protection and control works make up 6% (or $17.1 M) of GWRC expenditure for the current (2014/15) financial year. GWRC s flood protection and erosion control programme and funding for the Region is outlined in the Council s Long Term Plan & Infrastructure Strategy and it is supported by Floodplain Management Plans, Asset Management Plan and annual work programmes for individual river management schemes. The level of service provided is determined by: the level of need as determined through a variety of processes, described further in the following sections the need to maintain established flood protection assets agreed performance measures for individual river schemes, and the available funding. Review of the level of service to be provided in future in the Upper Wairarapa and Waiohine/Mangatarere catchments will be an outcome of the FMP processes. In seeking authorisation for the toolbox of methods to be available for use in service delivery, GWRC is seeking to enhance its ability to respond in an environmentally appropriate way to changes and events in the river system that may occur over the life of the new consents, without the need to continually seek variations for innovation and improvement in its management methods. This approach is consistent with that adopted for GWRC s applications for resource consents in other rivers in the western part of the Wellington Region. It should be stressed also that making the full toolbox available is not intended to create an expectation that all methods available in the toolbox will necessarily be employed over the life of the consents. 4.1 River management schemes To date the management of Wairarapa Rivers has been structured largely around individual River Management Schemes, which are governed by individual Advisory Scheme Committees and funded from a rating system that reflects both the direct benefits to the landowners from the scheme (the targeted river rate ) and the overall contribution that river management and development on the floodplains make to the whole region (the general GWRC rate). GWRC provides the management support for the Schemes and undertakes the work that is required, as explained further in Section 4.4. The river management schemes currently operating in the upper Wairarapa Valley (i.e. Application Area One) are shown in Table 6. 7 GWRC has statutory responsibility for the minimising and preventing of flood and erosion damage under the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941 (sections 10 and 126), and avoidance or mitigation of natural hazards under section 30 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). By definition, natural hazards include flooding.

32 22 Table 6: Upper Wairarapa Valley River Management Schemes Summary information Scheme Source: (Harley, 2014) and GWRC Length (km) Year Established Annual Expenditure (June 2013) Value of Assets (June 2012) Scheme Reserve 8 (June 2013) Upper Ruamahanga Mt Bruce ( split) $123,900 $1,448,577 $80,034 $7,373 Upper Ruamahanga Te Ore Ore ( split) $151,000 $2,365,289 $192,919 $7,373 Upper Ruamahanga Gladstone ( split) $155,000 $2,796,066 $76,568 $7,373 Waipoua 's $108,500 $3,664,087 $94,807 $21,686 Waingawa $179,900 $1,415,406 $100,257 $21,686 Kopuaranga $23,346 $0 -$44, $0 Whangaehu $6,979 $0 $10,123 $0 Taueru $5,500 $0 $10,351 $0 Waiohine/Mangatarere s $346,400 $7,391,000 $589,030 $35,227 Major Flood Investment Fund 9 8 Scheme reserves have been established to enable repairs to be made following flood events. The Scheme Reserves are utilised for floods in a 5 to 25 year return period. 9 The Major Flood Investment Reserve caters for flood events greater than a 25 year return period. 10 The Kopuaranga Scheme is still servicing the original loan taken out to initiate the scheme in 2007 and therefore has a negative scheme reserve.

33 Floodplain management plans A Floodplain Management Plan provides a wider and more comprehensive approach to river management than the individual river management schemes allow. Floodplain Management Planning is a three stage process involving extensive consultation with the whole community, which aims to: understand the issues of the flood hazard posed to communities by a river or rivers, the levels of risk to life and property and the conflicts between the flood hazard and the activities and aspirations of the community engage with the community to identify options for management of these issues reach agreement on the implementation of sustainable measures for management of these issues, based on an agreed level of flood risk. Although not a statutory document, a Floodplain Management Plan is an important tool for establishing the level of service desired or expected by a community in respect of river management works, together with the methods of achieving this outcome and the environmental values that must also be taken account of. Currently, as noted in Table 5, FMPs are under development for the Waiohine/Mangatarere and Te Kauru/Upper Ruamahanga catchments. Identification of a sustainable strategy for management of the flood hazard and agreement on the governance structure and funding arrangements around the current river management schemes going forward will be key outcomes of these FMP processes. 4.3 Current river management strategies Currently the primary goal in the management of Wairarapa gravel bed rivers is to maintain a stable channel alignment through the establishment of a design channel fairway with vegetative buffers on either side. This is generally achieved with the use of both engineered structures and vegetative systems, with a heavy reliance on the use of vegetation buffers to reduce lateral erosion of the river bank and to absorb and/or redirect the energy of flowing water. Significant work is carried out in the rivers using bulldozers, excavators and dump trucks to both extract and move gravel around, both in channel and on the dry beaches, to achieve the design alignment and to provide the opportunity and necessary condition to plant vegetation buffer required to provide edge protection. Ripping of gravel beaches is also used extensively to manage areas where gravel accumulation (which results in increased beach heights and island areas) puts pressure on the opposite banks of outside bends. Ripping, which is done with bulldozers, breaks up the hard compacted armour layer of the bed and allows the built up material to be mobilised more easily during freshes (i.e. less than annual return period flood events) and larger floods. (Harley, 2014) notes that there has been an improvement in consistency of approach over the last few years in terms of working towards the established fairway/channel alignment design. The ability to carry out planned work, is greatly affected by the flood events that occur during the year. Since around 2006 large flood events have been relatively infrequent and this has meant that maintenance programmes have not been interrupted, for the most part, by the need to remedy flood damage. However, there is always the risk that a flood event will occur, which severely damages work done over previous years to the scheme. This may affect the council s ability to work to a long term plan to achieve the designed management alignments Gravel extraction The removal of excess gravel, by extraction, is also used as a method to assist with the management of river capacity and alignment. This occurs mainly on the Ruamahanga, Waingawa,

34 24 Waipoua Rivers and Waiohine, although limited extraction also occurs in a small section of the Kaipatangata Stream to address a specific problem there. Gravel extraction from the rivers of the Wairarapa Valley is managed directly by GWRC. The benefits of a managed gravel extraction regime are to reduce river management costs and improve the effectiveness of flood and erosion control works. However, over-excavation of gravels or extraction from degrading river beds can create a risk of undermining of flood protection and erosion control works. To achieve the correct management balance therefore requires an ongoing review and monitoring programme, and an ability to target gravel extraction in terms of location, quantity and timing. Where possible GWRC uses the commercial demand for gravel as a means of excavating excess gravel that it needs removed for river management purposes. To date this has worked well and GWRC has not had to undertake significant extraction itself. The current gravel management system in the Wairarapa has been in operation since 2001, when GWRC obtained resource consent WAR to enable extraction ofgravel from the Ruamahanga River system for river management purposes, and assumed responsibility for managing gravel extraction by third parties undertaking the extraction on GWRC s behalf via a licensing process. Prior to this, individual extractors were required to obtain resource consents for each extraction site. The current process for gravel licencing involves the following steps: Extractor applies to GWRC for a Gravel extraction licence GWRC checks database to ensure it fits within the allowable extraction volumes prescribed by resource consent WAR A site visit is undertaken by the Extractor and River Supervisor, in order to identify areas that have most benefit to river alignment GWRC issues a Licence either long term, annual or one-off The licence year runs from 1 July to 30 June in following year; extractors are charged an annual licence fee and are required to submit a return each quarter specifying the extracted amounts. These are used to calculate royalties payable (currently $1.30 per m 3 ). Revenue from gravel royalties is used to offset the costs of flood protection works pertaining relevant Scheme and the costs of GWRC s river monitoring survey work. 4.4 Development of annual works programmes A works programme is prepared annually, prior to the start of the financial year on 1 July, for each of the Wairarapa river management schemes 11 according to the process outlined in Table 7. Table 7: Annual works programme development process Month Action Components March/April Work Programme draft 1. Inspections are carried out to identify condition ratings for individual assets. 2. Scheme finances are examined and appropriate operational budgets are set with consideration of targeted rate increases, and flood reserve contribution 3. Scheme work budget allocations: A draft plan is set up using typical expenditure for work types and budget is 11 Currently for the Upper Ruamahanga,Waingawa, Waipoua Schemes and the Waiohine Schemes

35 25 May June/July Work Programme presentation to Scheme Advisory Committees Deferments noted for next financial year allocated by river reach for channel work; planting; spraying; etc. Only high priority/significant expenditure jobs are itemised on the work programme 4. Engineer/Supervisor prioritise work from desktop assessment, noting any critical jobs (e.g. priority channel alignment or planting sites 5. Engineer/Supervisor conduct river inspections and/or analyse helicopter photographs, and revise desk-top programme draft. 6. Manager/Senior Engineer review: This provides a final review of the draft programme. Note, this is required by the River Agreement and must take into account environmental considerations in the review. About 75% of the programme is generic, i.e. $ for planting, $ for channel work O/H, etc. without listing the site-specific locations for expenditure. This is due to the nature of the work, which is maintenance oriented not permanent or capital. The Scheme Committees are asked to pass resolutions: (i) Accepting the annual and financial report presented (ii) That the scheme has been maintained to the satisfaction of the committee, and (iii) Recommending to Council that the proposed annual works budget and annual rate increase, if required This is any work that is noted during river inspections, during the year, that is unable to completed, for a particular reason; or anything that has been deferred due to budgetary constraints. Flood events The programme of work for each river is reviewed following flood events to re-prioritise works based on the effects of the event

36 26 5 Existing works and activities 5.1 Upper Ruamahanga River The Upper Ruamahanga River exits the Tararua Ranges at Mount Bruce, and flows a total distance of 58 km over the Wairarapa Plain to the Waiohine confluence. The channel form changes from predominantly semi-braided in the upper reaches, through a transition in the middle reaches to a single thread in the lower reaches. Significant geological features influencing river regime and alignment are the gorges in the Mt Bruce area, the Hidden Lakes slip, rock outcrops at Double Bridges and Rathkeale College, the Cliffs at Te Whiti and at the Gladstone and Kokotau Bridges. There has been a long history of river management associated with human settlement and the desire for people to protect themselves and their assets from the threat of flooding. A river control scheme was implemented in 1953 and during the next 20 years provided bank edge protection and river alignment stabilisation, thereby reducing the incidence of flooding along many sections of the River. The Upper Ruamahanga River Control Scheme was established in 1982 and covers the length of the Ruamahanga River from Mount Bruce downstream to the Waiohine confluence. The scheme was designed to protect an area of about 2,760ha of rural land and a number of public utilities using stopbanks, heavy bank protection, vegetation buffer zones and the Te Ore Ore gradecontrol weir (which is no longer maintained). A major review of the Scheme was undertaken in 2001/02 in response to a number of issues, particularly the river management approach and rating classifications. This review resulted in the Upper Ruamahanga Scheme being split into the three sections, noted in Table 6, in order to improve scheme performance (undertake river management and structural works to appropriate standards and meet reasonable ratepayer expectations) and rating equity (to better reflect levels of benefit to different ratepayers/properties). These are discussed further in Sections to below Ruamahanga Mt Bruce Scheme Existing scheme assets comprise structures including stopbanks, debris fences and groynes, together with willow plantings, with an estimated value of over $1.4M see Table 6. A design alignment based on a defined fairway channel and with buffer zones either side of this was developed by consultant river engineer Gary Williams in the early to mid-2000s. The alignment replicates a calculated natural meander pattern and geometry of the river within the fairway channel. Once established, the fairway is kept clear of vegetation and debris through a combination of machine clearance (bulldozer and excavator) and chemical spraying. The establishment and protection of vegetated buffer strips along either side of the river bank is a key activity in the management regime to support the establishment and maintenance of the both design fairway and form of the active channel(s) within it. Recent maintenance and operational works have been focused on maintaining the active channel within the designated channel fairway through bed re-contouring and channel alignment works, beach clearing and ripping, construction of rock/gravel groynes, and vegetation removal. Also, the planted buffer zones have been maintained and additional planting and/or willow cabling placed in areas subject to active bank erosion. More detailed information is included in Appendix C, with plans showing the location of the scheme and activities undertaken, and a table containing the work quantums.

37 Ruamahanga Te Ore Ore Scheme Existing scheme assets comprise structures including stopbanks, groynes, rip-rap, debris fences (some of which are strengthened with rock heads) together with willow plantings, with an estimated value of over $2.3M see Table 7. This scheme also uses a river design alignment supported by willow buffer zones as a principal management tool. This is achieved and maintained through the use of bed re-contouring and channel alignment works, beach clearing and ripping, construction of rock/gravel groynes (particularly where local assets, such as Henley Lake, are in close proximity to the river and where river re-alignment would significantly impact on these assets), and vegetation removal. Planting and/or willow cabling is also placed in areas subject to active bank erosion. More detailed information is included in Appendix C, with plans showing the location of the scheme and activities undertaken, and a table containing the work quantums Ruamahanga Gladstone Scheme Existing scheme assets comprise structures including stopbanks, groynes, rip-rap, and debris fences together with willow plantings, with an estimated value of over $2.7M see Table 7. This scheme also uses a river design alignment supported by willow buffer zones as a principal management tool. More detailed information is included in Appendix C, with plans showing the location of the scheme and activities undertaken, and a table containing the work quantums. 5.2 Waingawa River The Waingawa River is a steep gravel bed river with a semi-braided channel form, originating in the Tararua ranges and flowing to its confluence with the Ruamahanga River. The river is known for its high energy and the river channel can be highly mobile throughout its plains reach. In this latter area a number of active faults cut across the river, and these have displaced the river channel over time. The floodplain of the main river is generally well defined by terraces, however prior to the construction of stopbanks in the West Bush/Skeets Road area outflows during flood events could occur to the Waipoua River and Masterton. A series of floods in 1988 prompted affected landowners and the District Councils to request that a river management scheme be set up. This led to establishment of the Waingawa River Management Scheme in The Scheme covers a length of 17km, stretching from the Atiwhakatu Stream to the Ruamahanga River Confluence downstream. Over the first 15 years infrastructural assets were developed to mitigate erosion damage, course change and flood hazard to Masterton town and floodplain. A significant aspect of the scheme also involved the retirement of private land adjacent to the river for vegetation buffer zone (achieved with financial incentives). Current scheme management is focused on the following objectives: Establishment and maintenance of a defined channel fairway free of vegetation and obstruction Establishment and maintenance of a continuous buffer zone of protective vegetation along the fairway edges Sustainable gravel extraction Limitation of heavy protection works to sites where serious river alignment or change of course problems are developing Recognition of the importance of the river for recreation, and to enhance and extend recreational access and opportunities in conjunction with the operation of the Scheme

38 28 Recognition of the wildlife and fishery values of the river and maintenance or enhancement of the wildlife and fish habitat within the management of the river and its buffer zones. Existing scheme assets comprise structures including stopbanks, groynes, rip-rap, and debris fences together with willow plantings, with an estimated value of over $1.4M see Table 7. (Harley, 2014) notes that progress in establishing the current design fairway is ongoing, however the current river channel is out of alignment with the design channel lines in several locations and is approaching the outside buffer line at a few points along the scheme length. Channel realignments, through a combination of bed and beach re-contouring and the use of gravel groynes, is followed up with willow planting to continue development of the current design lines. Over the last quarter of 2013 a series of freshes has led to increased bank erosion, particularly in the reaches upstream of the Railway bridge leading to further deviation from the proposed design alignment. More detailed information is included in Appendix C, with plans showing the location of the scheme and activities undertaken, and a table containing the work quantums. 5.3 Waipoua River The Waipoua River has a catchment area of 149 km 2. Originating in the Tararua Ranges, a large part of the catchment is within the lower foothills of the range. The river has three major tributaries: the Kiriwhakapapa, Mikimiki and Whakamoekau Streams, which join the Waipoua River as it flows across the Wairarapa plain. The River then passes through the Masterton urban area before discharging into the Ruamahanga River at Te Ore Ore. The main river channel from its headwaters to its confluence with the Ruamahanga River is 30 km in length. The river channel is characterised as a steep gravel phase river with a relatively stable and narrow single thread channel. The Mikimiki reach and Masterton township reach have been straightened, steepened and shortened. Land use in the catchment is a mix of native forest in the upper catchment within the Tararua Ranges, transitioning to a range of primary production activities (dairying, dry stock grazing, cropping and plantation forestry), rural lifestyle development, and urban areas (Masterton) on the floodplain. Stopbanks in the Masterton urban area were first constructed in the 1940s, and the Waipoua River Scheme was established in 1954 with the objective to mitigate flooding and erosion hazards for rural land and the Masterton urban area. The scheme was designed to protect an area of about 770ha from flooding and extends 18 km from the Mikimiki Bridge to the confluence with the Ruamahanga River. Scheme assets consist of several lengths of stopbanks, rock groynes, rock riprap, grade control weirs, and debris fences, in addition to vegetation buffer zones and protective willow plantings. Table 6 indicates these have an estimated value of over $3.6M. The Waipoua Scheme adopts the same basic rural channel management approach as the other schemes noted above - namely maintaining a river fairway clear of vegetation while progressively trying to establishing vegetated willow buffers margins on both banks. More detailed information of recent work undertaken is included in Appendix C, with plans showing the location of the scheme and activities undertaken, and a table containing the work quantums.

39 Kopuaranga River The Kopuaranga River originates in the northern Wairarapa hill country to the east of Mount Bruce, and its catchment covers 166 km². The river flows for 58 km before joining the Ruamahanga River east of Opaki. In its upper reaches across the Hastwells Valley, the river channel is entrenched. The river then flows in a tightly meandering channel within a narrow valley that follows the line of the West Wairarapa fault, before turning away from the fault line and following an old course of the Ruamahanga River, in its lower reaches. The river joins the Ruamahanga River east of Opaki, at Rathkeale. The Kopuaranga floodplain contains a mix of soils formed from sandstone, limestone and siltstone. Land use in the catchment is predominantly primary production activities (dairying, dry stock grazing, cropping and plantation forestry) with a few scattered areas of native forest throughout the catchment. The Kopuaranga River Management Scheme covers 27km in length, from the bridge just downstream of the Clark Memorial Domain at Mauriceville, to its confluence with the Ruamahanga. It was established in 2007 in response to flood events in 2004 and The key goal of the scheme was to fund the selected removal of willows within and near the river channel which were impeding river flows, resulting in reduced channel capacity and more frequent flooding, particularly on properties in the lower sections of the Kopuaranga catchment. The Scheme also involves re-planting river banks with native and exotic species in the lower catchment, and an on-going maintenance programme involving spraying or cutting willows as required. Since the establishment of the Scheme, progressive removal and re-planting of willows has been undertaken. More detailed information of recent work undertaken is included in Appendix C. There are no structural assets located on the Kopuaranga River. 5.5 Whangaehu River The Whangaehu River catchment covers 145 km 2. The river, which is 32 km long, rises in steep hill country near Ihuraua and flows south in a narrow valley for much of its length, before flowing across the Te Ore Ore plains east of Masterton to join the Ruamahanga River. The Whangaehu catchment contains a mix of soils formed from sandstone, limestone and siltstone. Land use in the catchment is predominantly primary production activities (dairying, dry stock grazing, cropping and plantation forestry) with a few scattered areas of native forest throughout the catchment. In the 1950s a 600m long diversion channel was excavated adjacent to the river s confluence with the Ruamahanga River to try to reduce the incidence of flooding. This diversion channel caused a substantial amount of erosion, and to counteract it willows were planted in the diversion and the original river course immediately upstream (a total length of about 1.5km). In addition to this introduced planting, the river channel from the Ruamahanga confluence up to the Masterton-Castlepoint Road was overgrown with self-established willows. These willows physically blocked the channel, and encouraged silt deposition, reducing the river channel capacity. Works were undertaken in 1997/98 to remove the largest areas of willows and debris from the river channel. The Whangaehu River Management Scheme was established in 1995 in response to worsening flooding resulting from increased congestion of the river channel from willows and other debris. It covers 9km in length from Castlepoint Road to the Ruamahanga confluence. The Scheme does not contain any physical flood protection assets. The main works undertaken consist of an annual

40 30 spraying regime to control willow re-growth, with tree removal undertaken when required. Limited pole planting to manage erosion near the confluence is also undertaken. More detailed information of recent work undertaken is included in Appendix C. 5.6 Taueru River The Taueru River is 69 km long and has a catchment area of 498 km 2. In its lower reaches it has a relatively low gradient with a meandering pattern. Soils in the catchment are derived from the sandstone, limestone and siltstones of the eastern Wairarapa hill country. Land use in the catchment is predominantly primary production activities (dairying, dry stock grazing, cropping and plantation forestry) with a few scattered areas of native forest throughout the catchment. The existing Lower Taueru River Scheme extends for a length of approximately 18 km from the confluence with the Ruamahanga River just north of the Gladstone Road bridge upstream to a location near the end of Te Kopi Road. It was established in 1994 to reduce the incidence of flooding in this area due to excessive willow growth within the river channel. Scheme works have comprised original removal of willows and debris, followed by spraying to control re-growth and tree removal when required - which has many similarities to the Whangaehu River Scheme. The Scheme does not contain any physical flood protection assets. More detailed information of recent work undertaken is included in Appendix C. 5.7 Waiohine River FP to provide further information inside & outside scheme 5.8 Mangatarere Stream FP to provide further information; for areas inside & outside scheme 5.9 Kaipatangata Stream FP to provide further information 5.10 Enaki Stream FP to provide further information inside & outside scheme 5.11 Gravel extraction Area One Upper Ruamahanga catchment The amount of gravel that can potentially be extracted for river management purposes under the existing resource consent WAR is determined from bed level trends and gravel volume changes which are derived from five yearly surveys of river cross-sections. The most recent extraction limits are compared with the volumes that were actually extracted for the 2012/13 financial year in Table 8. It can be seen that over this year only 41% of the potentially available volume was extracted.

41 31 Table 8: Upper Ruamahanga catchment gravel extraction limits and extracted volumes 2012/13. Source: (Harley, 2014) River/Reach Annual Maximum Limit (m³) Volume Actually Extracted (m³) Waingawa River 20,000 19,400 Waipoua River & Tributaries 4,000 2,466 Ruamahanga River - Upstream of Double Bridges 20,000 3,500 Ruamahanga River - Double Bridges to Wardells 40,000 14,157 Ruamahanga River - Wardells to Waiohine 50,000 15,715 TOTAL 134,000 55,238 Figure 4 shows the location of the main gravel extraction sites in the 10 years prior to 2014, along with an indication of the extracted volumes. Figure 5 to Figure 7 shows further details of the extraction history in the Waingawa, Upper Ruamahanga (Te Ore Ore reach) and Waipoua Rivers. Boulder and gravel extraction has been undertaken at various locations within the Waingawa River, but the Figures show that gravel extraction from the river over the last 20 years has been significantly lower than the period through the 1980s. This reflects both a moratorium on extraction in the reach between the road and rail bridges which was imposed by GWRC in 1992 to reduce bed degradation, and introduction of the new gravel licencing system under WAR in 2001 which limited annual extraction to below 10,000 m 3. Since then, extraction limits have been increased, in 2005 and again in 2009, via variations of the resource consent. It can also be seen that extraction rates from the Ruamahanga River upstream of the Te Ore Ore bridge were significantly reduced in 1995/96 - this occurred when a new gravel extraction consent was granted. This quantity was again reduced to its current rate of 5000 m 3 in 2009 in response to on-going concerns relating to the effects of gravel extraction. Gravel extracted from the Waipoua River has generally been used much more locally to the river than with gravel extracted from the Waingawa and Ruamahanga rivers. This means that demand has been driven by what is being built in close proximity to the river at a particular time. The extraction limit is currently 4000 m 3 /year based on a three yearly rolling average, which means that this annual limit can be exceeded (by up to 25%) in any one year, as long as it does not exceed 12,000 m 3 for any three year period.

42 32 Figure 4: Location of significant gravel extraction sites in the 10 years prior to Source: (Harley, 2014)