Waiapu Catchment Plan

• give effect to Te Mana o te Wai and the Ngati Porou Joint Management Agreement
• ensure the mauri and values of waterways are recognised, protected and enhanced
• align with Ngati Porou and community values and aspirations
• ensure residents and stakeholders have opportunities to inform how water will be managed
• provide clear direction for sustainable management of freshwater in the catchment.

Te Mana o Te Wai is the concept that defines how all freshwater management decisions are made.

It refers to the fundamental importance of water and recognises that protecting the health of freshwater protects the health and well-being of the wider environment. It protects the mauri of the wai. Te Mana o Te Wai is about restoring and preserving the balance between the water, the wider environment, and the community by defining the following hierarchy that will be applied to all freshwater management decisions.

1. The health and wellbeing of water bodies and freshwater ecosystems
2. The health and needs of the people (such as drinking water)
3. People and communities to provide for their social, economic and cultural wellbeing, now and into the future.

Originating in the Raukumara Ranges, the Waiapu River begins at the confluence of the Mata and Tapuaeroa Rivers, just above the Rotokautuku Bridge at Ruatorea.

The river spans 26 kilometres through a system of river flats and flows to the coast at the ngutu awa (river mouth).

The Mata River is the largest tributary of the Waiapu and therefore the majority of the Waiapu Catchment is upstream of the Waiapu River in the Mata sub-catchment.

The Mata River catchment also consists of the following tributaries:

• Waitahaia River
• Waingakia Stream
• Ihungia River
• Makarika Stream
• Aorangiwai Stream
• Makatote Stream

Other tributaries that flow directly into the Waiapu River include:

• Mangaoporo River
• Poroporo River
• Maraehara River

The coastal catchments adjacent to the Waiapu Catchment will also be included in the Waiapu Catchment Plan. This includes streams flowing directly to the sea from Whangaokena to Koutunui Head to align with the management arrangements in Nga Rohe Moana o Nga Hapu o Ngati Porou Act 2019.

Current state of the wai

• Most water use in the catchment is for drinking water, swimming and stock water.
• There are 2 consents to take water within the catchment and 2 expired consents to take geothermal water at Te Puia Springs.
• There are many puna/springs, and many whanau source their domestic water from springs and awa as permitted takes.
• There is a large amount of gravel extracted from a range of rivers in the catchment, but particularly from the Mata, Waiapu
  and Tapuaeroa Rivers.
• As of February 2020, rates of consented gravel extraction from the catchment are in the order of 450,000m3/year, with 150,000m3/year from the mainstem Waiapu River. This is considerably more than the amount of net bedload transfer for the mainstem which is assessed as being around 35,000 – 45,000m3/year.
• Water quality across the catchment is impacted mainly by sediment and E.coli (bacteria).
• Water quality and stream health is generally good in the headwaters but deteriorates once the rivers flow through the
  catchment.
• Many of the monitoring sites are below national bottom lines for visual clarity (sediment), E.coli (bacteria), deposited sediment (on the river bed) and ecosystem health (macroinvertebrates).

Key Environmental Issues

• Managing gravel extraction within sustainable limits.
• Ongoing erosion and instability generating large amounts of sediment.
• Stock access to rivers causing high levels of E.coli.
• Poor ecosystem health in many rivers and streams