Freshwater Policy Review

Water is the source of life | He puna ora, he wai ora

Water means something to everyone. It provides us with food and recreational opportunities, gives us our drinking supplies, generates power and keeps businesses moving.

How we manage our environment so the fresh waterbodies of the Waikato can be enjoyed for generations to come is the focus of Waikato Regional Council’s Freshwater Policy Review. This policy review is just one of the requirements under central government’s Essential Freshwater package, which is about stopping further degradation of New Zealand’s fresh water and improving its quality and ecosystem health.

It involves making changes to our Waikato Regional Policy Statement (RPS) and developing a new Waikato Regional Plan to bring them into line with this direction. To do this, we’ll be seeking input from tangata whenua, the community and sector groups throughout the review process to ensure many voices are heard and considered in helping us to determine the best solution to managing our region’s fresh water.

Find out more

The opportunity to share feedback on this phase of the Freshwater Policy Review closed on 7 August 2023.

Make sure to keep an eye out for further opportunities to provide feedback as the review progresses.