WGN DOCS-#1441254-v1-Application Document - Working DRAFT ... · 4.3.1 Gravel extraction 23 4.4 Development of annual works programmes 24 5 Existing works and activities 26 5.1 Upper

REPORT

Report prepared for:

GREATER WELLINGTON REGIONAL COUNCIL

Report prepared by:

Tonkin & Taylor Ltd

T&T Ref: 85484.004

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

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

Greater Wellington Regional Council T&T Ref. 85484.004

Table of contents

Greater Wellington Regional Council i

Resource Consent Applications for River Management Activities in rivers of the

Upper Wairarapa Valley i

& for Dry Gravel Extraction from selected river reaches in the Lower Wairarapa Valley i

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Application for resource consents 1

1.2 Activities not requiring consent 10

1.3 Wider context of this application 13

1.4 Proposed adaptive management approach 15

1.5 Structure and terms sought for new consents 15

2 Land ownership 18

3 Mana whenua 19

4 River management context 21

4.1 River management schemes 21

4.2 Floodplain management plans 23

4.3 Current river management strategies 23

4.3.1 Gravel extraction 23

4.4 Development of annual works programmes 24

5 Existing works and activities 26

5.1 Upper Ruamahanga River 26

5.1.1 Ruamahanga – Mt Bruce Scheme 26

5.1.2 Ruamahanga – Te Ore Ore Scheme 27

5.1.3 Ruamahanga – Gladstone Scheme 27

5.2 Waingawa River 27

5.3 Waipoua River 28

5.4 Kopuaranga River 29

5.5 Whangaehu River 29

5.6 Taueru River 30

5.7 Waiohine River 30

5.8 Mangatarere Stream 30

5.9 Kaipatangata Stream 30

5.10 Enaki Stream 30

5.11 Gravel extraction – Area One 30

5.11.1 Upper Ruamahanga catchment 30

5.11.2 Waiohine River 34

5.11.3 Kaipatangata Stream 34

5.12 Gravel extraction – Area Two 34

6 Existing river environment 35

6.1 Geomorphology & sediment transport 35

6.2 Hydrology 35

6.3 Water quality 35

6.4 Riparian vegetation 35

6.5 Birds 35

6.6 Aquatic vegetation 35

6.7 Aquatic macroinvertebrates 35

6.8 Fish 35




6.9 Recreation 36

6.10 Heritage & sites of cultural value 36

6.11 Sites of cultural value 36

7 Proposed works 36

7.1 Management approach 36

7.2 Activities 36

7.3 Gravel extraction 36

8 Consideration of alternatives 36

9 Assessment of environmental effects 36

10 Consultation 36

11 Statutory assessment 36

12 Proposed consent conditions 36

13 Conclusions 36

14 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: i

Appendix E: i

Annex 1: Environmental Code of Practice & Monitoring Plan (working draft) 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 2014. Source:

(Harley, 2014) Figure 5: Waingawa River Gravel Extraction 1977 – 2013. Source: (Harley, 2014) Figure 6: Ruamahanga River – Te Ore Ore Reach Gravel Extraction 1979 -2013 Figure 7: Waipoua River Gravel Extraction History 1998 -2013. 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)




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




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




forward, which may well provide a model for other river managers around the country to

emulate.

1

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

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 policies1. 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.

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 catchments2. 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 Council3

Owners of application site The Crown, Wellington Regional Council, Masterton,

Carterton & South Wairarapa District Councils and

others. Certificates of Title are included in Appendix

B4.

Site address / map reference 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 070049 authorises flood protection works and maintenance activities within the Lower Wairarapa Valley

Development Scheme area. It expires on 30 September 2027. 3 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.

3




details

RMA Regional Plans Regional Freshwater Plan for the Wellington Region

Regional Soil Plan for the Wellington Region

RMA District Plans Combined Wairarapa District Plan (Masterton,

Carterton & South Wairarapa District Councils)

Address for service and invoicing Greater Wellington Regional Council

Flood Protection Department

Attention: Tracy Berghan

1




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

1

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


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

2



Table 1: Application Areas One & Two – extent details

Area

River

Managed Reach/Scheme

Upstream extent

NZTM Grid

reference

Downstream extent

NZTM Grid

Reference

Length of

waterway (km)

Easting Northing Easting Northing

One Ruamahanga River Upper Ruamahanga -Mt Bruce Scheme 1820075 5484340 1826285 5463335 25

Upper Ruamahanga – Te Ore Ore Scheme 1826285 5463335 1824700 5457285 9

Upper Ruamahanga – Gladstone Scheme 1824700 5457285 1810081 5446279 24

Kopuaranga River Kopuaranga Scheme 1827625 5481635 1826895 5469325 27

Waipoua River Waipoua Scheme 1820670 5475140 1825286 5462380 18

2.5 km section upstream of Scheme 1820687 5477082 1820670 5475140 2.5

Waingawa River Waingawa Scheme 1813255 5469940 1824125 5456915 17

Whangaehu River Whangaehu Scheme 1829900 5462080 1826260 5458975 9

Taueru River Taueru Scheme 1828555 5455460 1821245 5450300 17

Waiohine River Waiohine/Mangatarere Scheme 1801481 5453181 1810481 5446779 17

1.5 km upstream of Scheme 1801360 5454415 1801481 5453181 1.5

Mangatarere Stream Waiohine/Mangatarere Scheme 1810620 5456445 1810481 5446779 6

Upstream scheme 1811635 5464985 1810620 5456445 13

Kaipatangata Stream Waiohine/Mangatarere Scheme 1808530 5455645 1810620 5456445 3

Gravel management reach 1809170 5454765 1809380 5454265 0.6

Enaki Stream Waiohine/Mangatarere Scheme 1809270 5457167 1809960 5455325 2.4

3



Two Ruamahanga River Main stem from the end of Area One to

Lake Onoke

1810081 5446279 1778890 5417925

Huangarua River & tributaries Forest Park to Ruamahanga confluence Whole catchment*

Dry River Limeworks to Ruamahanga confluence 1799570 5423755 1799315 5431430 12

Tauanui River Upper catchment to Ruamahanga

confluence

Whole catchment*

Waiorongomai River (Lake Wairarapa catchment) Western Lake

Rd to delta

Whole catchment*

Tauherenikau River (Lake Wairarapa catchment) Gorge to Lake

Wairarapa

Whole catchment*

Donalds Creek/Abbots Creek (Lake Wairarapa catchment) Featherston to

Lake Wairarapa

Whole catchment*

Cross Creek (Lake Wairarapa catchment) Western Lake

Rd to delta

Whole catchment*

Turanganui River (Lake Onoke catchment) Whakatomotomo

Rd end to delta

Whole catchment*

Pounui Stream (Lake Onoke catchment) Western Lake Rd to

delta

Whole catchment*

* In this context ‘whole catchment’ means the catchment from the point at which the river emerges from the steep hill country

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

• Rock & block groynes

• Gravel groynes & training banks

• Rock lining (rockline, rip-rap, toe rock)

• Gabion baskets

• Gabion structures

• Reno mattresses

• Grade control structures

Construction & maintenance of

“Permeable” Erosion Protection

• Debris fences

• Permeable groynes

• Debris arrester

Demolition and removal of existing

structures

• Impermeable structures

• Permeable structures

Maintenance of existing outlet structures Structural repairs to, cleaning and clearance of:

• Existing culverts and floodgate structures that discharge directly to the

river/waterbody

Channel shaping or realignment 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

5




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)

Outside the beds of rivers in Area One –

full toolbox

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

tracks

Structural repairs to, and maintenance of:

• 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)

In the beds of the river reaches in Area Channel capacity maintenance Gravel extraction from beaches in the river bed, above actively flowing channels

6




Two – dry gravel extraction only

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’

8




consent sought


Rule(s)


� 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

9




consent sought


Rule(s)


Area Two Land Use RFP Rule 49 – All remaining

uses of river beds

� Extraction of gravel from dry’ beaches only in river beds below the Waiohine confluence,

and associated disturbance of bed.

10




1.2 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

Relevant Plan & Rules Activities covered

RFP Rule 1

Discharge of water (other than stormwater) and minor

contaminants

Cleaning & water blasting of structures

RFP Rule 2

Discharge of stormwater into surface water

Stormwater discharges arising from works

areas on berms (provided it doesn’t originate

from an area of bulk earthworks greater than

0.3 ha)

RFP Rule 9

Minor diversion of water from intermittently flowing

stream

Diversion of less than 1.5 m3/s of fresh water

& associated disturbance of river bed,

associated with placement of a structure in

an intermittently flowing stream

RFP Rule 9A

Diversion of water from an artificial watercourse or drain

Diversion of water from an artificial

watercourse or drain associated with

construction or maintenance work in the

drain

RFP Rule 22 Maintenance, repair etc. of structures Minor maintenance works on structures &

associated disturbance of river bed

RFP Rule 23 Extensions of linear rock protection Minor extensions of width & length to

existing riprap & associated river bed

disturbance

RFP Rule 24 Placement of vegetative bank protection

structures

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)

RFP Rule 25 River crossings in intermittently flowing

streams

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)

11




RFP Rule 33

Removal or demolition of structures

Removal or demolition of structures provided

they are not being replaced, or involving

disturbance of < 10 m3 of river bed material

RFP Rule 35

Entry or passage across river bed not covered by any use

specified in Rules 22 - 48 or s13 of the Act

Passage across a river bed for access

RFP Rule 36

Clearance of flood debris

Disturbance of river beds associated with

clearance of flood debris

RFP Rule 37

“Beach” recontouring

Recontouring of beaches in the river bed to

remedy or mitigate effects of flood or

erosion. Would include ‘ripping’.

RFP Rule 39

Maintenance of drains (as defined by RFP)

Removal of vegetation & associated sediment

from drains for the purpose of maintaining

original grade or cross section of the channel

RFP Rule 40

Removal of vegetation from river bed (& any associated

disturbance of, deposition on, river bed or temporary

diversion)

Removal of vegetation from river bed

(including cutting of stakes and poles for re-

planting)

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

RFP Rule 41

Planting (& any associated disturbance of, deposition on,

river bed or temporary diversion)

Planting in river beds for flood protection

purposes. (NB – crack willow is permitted on

river margins where already predominant)

RFP Rule 42

Urgent Works

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

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

Construction of walkways or cycle ways on

the river berms (outside of the river beds)

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 m3 of soil within any 10,000 m

2 area

Repairs of stopbanks and berms (outside the

river beds)

Recontouring on berms

Lowering berms

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.

13




1.3 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 2016. 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.

The existing western rivers consents cover:

• Hutt River [WGN 980255 and WGN 060334]

• Stokes Valley Stream [WGN 060291]

• Waikanae River [WGN 980256]

• Otaki River [WGN 980254] and

• Wainuiomata River [WGN 020143]

The existing eastern rivers consents cover:

• Waingawa River [WAR 130142]

• Waiohine River, Mangatarere Stream,

Kaipatangata Stream [WAR 000363]

• Waipoua River [WAR000364]

• Upper Ruamahanga River [WAR000365]

• Ruamahanga River [WAR 990026]

• Kaipatangata Stream [WAR 990313]

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 2014.

Work on the eastern

consents commenced in late

2014 and is the subject of

this application.

2 Waingawa River

Short-term

Resource Consent

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 consent [WAR 130142]

expires 30 September 2015

and the re-consenting of it is

included in this application

(see Work Stream 1 above).

3 Monitoring of

environmental

effects of activities

and development

of a regional

Environmental

Monitoring Plan

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.

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

14




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.

4 Environmental

Code of Practice

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.

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.

5 Floodplain

Management Plans

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)

The Waiohine FMP process

commenced in 2009 and

Phase 3 (selection of a

sustainable solution) was

signed off in late 2013.

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

2014. Phase 2 (identification

& assessment of

management options) is

underway. The FMP is

expected to be in place by

late 2016.

The TKFMP includes the

Waingawa River, for which a

separate FMP was initially

being developed.

15




1.4 Proposed adaptive management approach

The need for operations and maintenance work in many of Wellington’s rivers is constant and on-

going. 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 conditions5. 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.

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 070049 for flood protection works in the lower part of the

Wairarapa Valley on 30 September 2027.

17



Figure 3: Adaptive management framework

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

19




3 Mana whenua

There are two iwi with mana whenua6 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.

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.

21




4 River management context

The requirement to address the flood and erosion hazards associated with rivers is enshrined in

legislation7, 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.

22



Table 6: Upper Wairarapa Valley River Management Schemes – Summary information

Source: (Harley, 2014) and GWRC

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.

Scheme Length

(km)

Year Established Annual Expenditure

(June 2013)

Value of Assets

(June 2012)

Scheme Reserve8

(June 2013)

Major Flood

Investment Fund9

Upper Ruamahanga – Mt Bruce 25 1982 (2001 - split) $123,900 $1,448,577 $80,034 $7,373

Upper Ruamahanga – Te Ore Ore 9 1982 (2001 - split) $151,000 $2,365,289 $192,919 $7,373

Upper Ruamahanga – Gladstone 24 1982 (2001 - split) $155,000 $2,796,066 $76,568 $7,373

Waipoua 18 1950's $108,500 $3,664,087 $94,807 $21,686

Waingawa 17 1992 $179,900 $1,415,406 $100,257 $21,686

Kopuaranga 27 2007 $23,346 $0 -$44,59310

$0

Whangaehu 9 1997 $6,979 $0 $10,123 $0

Taueru 17 1994 $5,500 $0 $10,351 $0

Waiohine/Mangatarere 17 1950s $346,400 $7,391,000 $589,030 $35,227

23




4.2 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.

4.3.1 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,

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 990026 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 990026

• 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 m3). 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 schemes11

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

25




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.

May Work Programme

presentation to

Scheme Advisory

Committees

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

June/July Deferments noted

for next financial

year

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

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 grade-

control 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 5.1.1 to

5.1.3 below.

5.1.1 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.

27




5.1.2 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.



5.1.3 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 1992. 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

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• 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 re-

alignments, 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.



5.3 Waipoua River

The Waipoua River has a catchment area of 149 km2. 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


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5.4 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 2005. 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 km2. 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

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 km2. 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

5.11.1 Upper Ruamahanga catchment

The amount of gravel that can potentially be extracted for river management purposes under the

existing resource consent WAR 990026 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.

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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 990026

in 2001 which limited annual extraction to below 10,000 m3. 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 m3 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 m3/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 m3 for any three year period.

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

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Figure 5: Waingawa River Gravel Extraction 1977 – 2013. Source: (Harley, 2014)

Figure 6: Ruamahanga River – Te Ore Ore Reach Gravel Extraction 1979 -2013

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Figure 7: Waipoua River Gravel Extraction History 1998 -2013. Source: (Harley, 2014)

5.11.2 Waiohine River


5.11.3 Kaipatangata Stream


5.12 Gravel extraction – Area Two


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6 Existing river environment

6.1 Geomorphology & sediment transport

Summary to be added

6.2 Hydrology

Summary to be added

6.3 Water quality

Summary to be added

6.4 Riparian vegetation

Summary to be added

6.5 Birds

Summary to be added

6.6 Aquatic vegetation

Summary to be added

6.7 Aquatic macroinvertebrates

Summary to be added

6.8 Fish

Summary to be added

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6.9 Recreation

Summary to be added

6.10 Heritage & sites of cultural value

Summary to be added

6.11 Sites of cultural value

Summary to be added

7 Proposed works

7.1 Management approach

7.2 Activities

7.3 Gravel extraction

8 Consideration of alternatives

9 Assessment of environmental effects

10 Consultation

11 Statutory assessment

12 Proposed consent conditions

13 Conclusions

14 Applicability

This report has been prepared for the benefit of Greater Wellington Regional Council with respect

to the particular brief given to us and it may not be relied upon in other contexts or for any other

purpose without our prior review and agreement.

37




Tonkin & Taylor LTD

Environmental and Engineering Consultants

Report prepared by: Authorised for Tonkin & Taylor Ltd by:

.......................................................... ...........................….......…...............

(Type Name here) (Type name here)

(Title) (Title)

pl

C:\Users\allana\AppData\Roaming\OpenText\DM\Temp\WGN_DOCS-#1441254-v1-Application_Document_-_Working_DRAFT_V3_-

_SENT_OUT_21-12-14.DOCX

Appendix A: Application Forms

Appendix B: Certificates of Title

Appendix C: River management scheme plans and work

records

• To be sourced from Harley (2014) – Appendix A

• WGN_DOCS-#1255672-UWVFMP Area - River Management

Expenditure (2003/04 to 2012/13)

Appendix D:

Appendix E:

Annex 1: Environmental Code of Practice &

Monitoring Plan (working draft)

Documents

WGN DOCS-#1441254-v1-Application Document - Working DRAFT ... · 4.3.1 Gravel extraction 23 4.4 Development of annual works programmes 24 5 Existing works and activities 26 5.1 Upper