What do we value about freshwater?
Everyone values freshwater and the role it plays in our lives. While we have that in common, our different backgrounds mean we may value freshwater for different reasons. Horizons needs to identify those values so we know how to provide for the environmental, cultural, social and economic well-being of everyone in our region.
Knowing those values will help us to identify key freshwater areas to protect and restore. It's also a key component of central government’s Essential Freshwater Package.
While you can let us know what your key values are, there are some compulsory values:
- Ecosystem health: the ability of water bodies (rivers, lakes, wetlands and aquifers) to support all life, including fish, birds, insects and plants.
- Human contact: it is safe for people to use freshwater for hobbies such as swimming, fishing, and waka.
- Threatened species: our freshwater environments are healthy enough to support rare or threatened fish, birds, plants and insects.
- Mahinga kai: it is safe to gather and harvest freshwater kai. Freshwater customary practices can be carried out where desired.
Previous engagement
Last year, more than 400 of you responded to our freshwater values survey. These responses are now helping to shape freshwater policy.
"When you think of freshwater, what are the things you think of?"
91%
of respondents most associated freshwater with drinking water supply and ecosystem health.
"What physical things relating to freshwater are most important?"
97%
of respondents thought ecosystem health, human contact (like swimming) and drinking water supply were most important.
"What intangible things relating to freshwater are most important?"
77%
of respondents thought connection (including spiritual) and preservation for future generations were most important.
Fish & Game and anglers raised the importance of protecting freshwater fishery (trout) habitat.
Fish & Game and waterfowlers raised the value freshwater habitats provide for waterfowl and recreational hunting.
Horticulture NZ and individual growers expressed the importance of balancing the health and well-being of freshwater with providing for the commercial needs of growers.
DairyNZ expressed a view that some values should reflect the productive nature of our freshwater catchments.
Next steps
The above values, as well as already-established regional and national views detailed below, have been redrafted, which can be found here and were noted by Council in April 2023. Those values will help us create revisions to the One Plan, the guide to managing natural resources in our region. Those revisions could affect what you can do in, around and wish freshwater.
Location-specific values
Some values apply across the whole region and others to specific areas. Where a value applies to a specific location, we have mapped those values on an interactive tool. If you think a value is missing, something isn’t quite right, you want more information, or you want to share your thoughts, let us know via our feedback form.
Iwi/hapū and Treaty settlement legislation
We are collaborating with iwi and hapū in our region to ensure their freshwater values are understood, articulated and applied.
The values developed through this work are not to be confused with values from other areas, such as legislation developed as a result of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi settlements. For example, the Te Awa Tupua Act has Tupua te Kawa values which reflect the relationship of the people to the Whanganui River.
The values detailed below come from the current version of the One Pla, the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) and our regional values. Click on each tab to get a fuller explanation.
NPS-FM compulsory values
The ability of water bodies (rivers, lakes, wetlands, and aquifers) to support all life, including fish, birds, insects, plants, and microbes.
It is safe for people to use freshwater for hobbies such as swimming, fishing and waka.
Our freshwater environments are healthy enough to support rare or threatened fish, birds, plants, and insects.
It is safe to gather and harvest freshwater kai. Freshwater customary practices can be carried out where desired.
NPS-FM other values
The natural qualities of the freshwater bodies (rivers, lakes, streams) that are important to people are protected.
Domestic water supply is reliable, safe and good to drink after treatment.
Sacred cultural traditions can be safely performed.
Waterways are accessible and navigable for identified means of transport, including places to launch and land waka and watercraft (boats, kayaks, rafts, and canoes).
Fish are plentiful, and there are many different species that can be safely caught and eaten.
Water quality and quantity are suitable to provide for hydro-electric power generation.
Water is palatable, safe, and able to meet the needs of livestock.
Water is suitable to meet irrigation and cultivation needs.
Water quality and quantity can provide for commercial and industrial activities.
Regional values
Water quality and quantity is suitable for irrigation and wash water for domestic fruit and vegetable production.
Our freshwater environments are enjoyable and safe places to carry out recreational activities including walking and cycling.
Stopbanks, floodgates and other structures to control flooding and drainage are not compromised.
The integrity of existing infrastructure (e.g., bridges and roads) is not compromised.
The river and its bed are maintained in their natural state.
Ecosystem health
This refers to the extent to which a Freshwater Management Unit (FMU) or part of an FMU supports an ecosystem appropriate to the type of water body (for example, river, lake, wetland, or aquifer).
There are five biophysical components that contribute to freshwater ecosystem health, and it is necessary that all of them are managed. They are:
Water quality – the physical and chemical measures of the water, such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, suspended sediment, nutrients, and toxicants.
Water quantity – the extent and variability in the level or flow of water
Habitat – the physical form, structure, and extent of the water body, its bed, banks, and margins; its riparian vegetation; and its connections to the floodplain and to groundwater.
Aquatic life – the abundance and diversity of biota including microbes, invertebrates, plants, fish, and birds
Ecological processes – the interactions among biota and their physical and chemical environment such as primary production, decomposition, nutrient cycling, and trophic connectivity.
In a healthy freshwater ecosystem, all five biophysical components are suitable to sustain the indigenous aquatic life expected in the absence of human disturbance or alteration (before providing for other values).
Human contact
This refers to the extent to which an FMU or part of an FMU supports people being able to connect with the water through a range of activities such as swimming, waka, boating, fishing, mahinga kai, and water skiing, in a range of different flows or levels.
Matters to take into account include pathogens, water clarity, deposited sediment, plant growth (from macrophytes to periphyton to phytoplankton), cyanobacteria, other toxicants, and litter.
Threatened species
This refers to the extent to which an FMU or part of an FMU that supports a population of threatened species has the critical habitats and conditions necessary to support the presence, abundance, survival, and recovery of the threatened species.
All the components of ecosystem health must be managed, as well as (if appropriate) specialised habitat or conditions needed for only part of the life cycle of the threatened species.
Mahinga kai
Mahinga kai – kai is safe to harvest and eat.
Mahinga kai generally refers to freshwater species that have traditionally been used as food, tools, or other resources. It also refers to the places those species are found and to the act of catching or harvesting them. Mahinga kai provide food for the people of the rohe (region) and these sites give an indication of the overall health of the water. For this value, kai would be safe to harvest and eat. Transfer of knowledge can occur about the preparation, storage, and cooking of kai. In FMUs or parts of FMUs that are used for providing mahinga kai, the desired species are plentiful enough for long-term harvest and the range of desired species is present across all life stages.
Mahinga kai – Kei te ora te mauri (the mauri of the place is intact).
In FMUs or parts of FMUs that are valued for providing mahinga kai, customary resources are available for use, customary practices can be exercised to the extent desired, and tikanga and preferred methods are able to be practised.
Natural form and character
The FMU or part of the FMU has particular natural qualities that people value. Natural qualities may include exceptional, natural, or iconic aesthetic features. Matters contributing to the natural form and character of an FMU are its biological, visual, and physical characteristics that are valued by the community, including:
a) its biophysical, ecological, geological, geomorphological, and morphological aspects
b) the natural movement of water and sediment including hydrological and fluvial processes
c) the natural location of a water body and course of a river
d) the relative dominance of indigenous flora and fauna
e) the presence of culturally significant species
f) the colour of the water
g) the clarity of the water
Drinking water supply
The FMU or part of the FMU can meet people’s drinking water needs. Water quality and quantity is sufficient for water to be taken and used for drinking water supply.
Matters affecting the suitability of water for drinking include:
a) physical, chemical, and microbiological contamination (for example, bacteria and cyanotoxins, viruses, protozoa, and other pathogens)
b) any other contaminants identified in drinking water standards issued under the Health Act 1956 or any other legislation
c) the effects of contamination on drinking water treatment processes and the safety of drinking water, and its aesthetic value (that is, appearance, taste, and smell).
Wai tapu
Wai tapu represent the places in an FMU or part of an FMU where rituals and ceremonies are performed, or where there is special significance to tangata whenua.
Rituals and ceremonies include, but are not limited to, tohi (baptism), karakia (prayer), waerea (protective incantation), whakatapu (placing of rāhui), whakanoa (removal of rāhui), and tuku iho (gifting of knowledge and resources to future generations).
In providing for this value, the wai tapu are free from human and animal waste, contaminants, and excess sediment, with valued features and unique properties of the wai protected. Other matters that may be important are that there is no artificial mixing of the wai tapu and identified taonga in the wai are protected.
Transport and tauranga waka
The FMU or part of the FMU is navigable for identified means of transport.
Transport and tauranga waka generally refers to places to launch waka and watercraft, and appropriate places for waka to land (tauranga waka).
Fishing
The FMU or part of the FMU supports fisheries of species allowed to be caught and eaten.
For FMUs or parts of FMUs valued for fishing, the numbers of fish are sufficient and suitable for human consumption. In some areas, fish abundance and diversity provide a range in species and size of fish, and algal growth, water clarity and safety are satisfactory for fishers. Attributes will need to be specific to fish species such as salmon, trout, tuna, lamprey, or whitebait.
Hydro-electric power generation
The FMU or part of the FMU is suitable for hydro-electric power generation.
Water quality and quantity and the physical qualities of the FMU or part of the FMU, including hydraulic gradient and flow rate, can provide for hydro-electric power generation.
Animal drinking water
The FMU or part of the FMU meets the needs of farmed animals.
Water quality and quantity meets the needs of farmed animals, including whether it is palatable and safe.
Irrigation, cultivation, and production of food and beverages
The FMU or part of the FMU meets irrigation needs for any purpose.
Water quality and quantity is suitable for irrigation needs, including supporting the cultivation of food crops, the production of food from farmed animals, non-food crops such as fibre and timber, pasture, sports fields, and recreational areas. Attributes will need to be specific to irrigation and food production requirements.
Commercial and industrial use
The FMU or part of the FMU provides economic opportunities for people, businesses, and industries. Water quality and quantity can provide for commercial and industrial activities. Attributes will need to be specific to commercial or industrial requirements.
Domestic food supply
Water quality and quantity is suitable for irrigation and wash water for domestic food production.
Amenity
The amenity values of the water body and its bed (and its margins where in public ownership) are maintained or enhanced.
Flood control and drainage
The integrity of existing flood and riverbank erosion protection structures and existing drainage structures is not compromised, and the risks associated with flooding and erosion are managed sustainably.