Industry

The industry side of consents monitoring for Horizons consists of ‘three waters’ – wastewater, water abstraction and stormwater.
 

Wastewater

We monitor a number of consents for wastewater in our Region. This includes consents for city and district councils to discharge treated wastewater to water or land.

Under this programme our Compliance Monitoring Team makes regular visits to wastewater treatment plants to ensure consent holders are abiding by conditions of their consents. These conditions range from ensuring there is no objectional odour beyond the property boundary to not causing any detrimental impacts on aquatic life.

View our most recent wastewater report (as presented to Council in November 2019)

Water abstraction

We monitor consents for water takes from bores (also known as groundwater), streams and rivers for farms, industry and power schemes around the Region to ensure water is used within allocated limits and whether water is being used efficiently.  
 
A significant part of this activity is checking water users are doing their part to reduce water use during low flow periods and that consents under the National Regulations are compliant. Below are a number of factsheets which provide useful information around the National Regulations, accredited meter installers and free telemetry units which report water use back to us automatically.
 
More information about water usage is available in Chapter 6 and 15 in the One Plan (link). To apply for a consent to drill a bore or abstract water please click here (link). 

Measuring and reporting water takes

Download

What is telemetry?

Download

Water restrictions and managing your take via telemetry

Download

Accredited meter installation and verification companies

Download

Choosing a flow meter

Download

National Regulations for Measuring & Reporting Water Use

Download

On-Site Wastewater Systems Manual - Design & Management

Download

Stormwater

Horizons has permitted activity rules for the discharge of stormwater to land or water. If these rules cannot be achieved then a consent is required in order for this to be controlled. For more information about permitted activity rules for stormwater discharges see Chapter 14 of the One Plan.

Urban stormwater can collect a variety of contaminants as rainwater runs over impermeable surfaces. The levels and types of contaminants vary between residential, commercial and industrial land uses.

Contaminants can include:
•             Sediment
•             trace metals such as copper, lead and zinc
•             hydrocarbons from petrol and oil
•             pathogenic bacteria and viruses
•             pesticides
•             and trace organics such as phthalates and surfactants.
 
To improve the quality of runoff from your home and/or workplace, make a few simple changes with the help of NIWA.