"November 2016"

Publication date: March 2018. Publication reference number: CR 305

NIWA CLIENT REPORT No: 2017017CH

NIWA Project: MFE17xxx

Executive summary -- 1 Background -- 2 Definition of water resource use limits, over-allocation and headroom -- 3 Are the limits protective of freshwater objectives? -- 4 Complicating issues for quantifying over-allocation -- 4.1 Spatial issues -- 4.2 Free format to consents -- 4.3 Consented allocation, restricted allocation, recorded take and actual take -- 4.4 Temporal issues -- 4.5 Efficient irrigation -- 4.6 Permitted and consented activities -- 4.7 Historical legacies -- 4.8 Stream flow depletion from groundwater abstraction -- 4.9 Non-consumptive takes and discharges -- 5 Options for expressing allocation -- 5.1 Expression of limits at control points -- 5.2 Expression of allocation within catchments -- 5.3 Expression of allocation between catchments -- 6 Conclusion -- 7 Acknowledgements -- 8 References

This working paper produced by NIWA for the Ministry for the Environment in 2016 proposes a methodology for calculating over-allocation of fresh water.

The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (as amended 2017) requires limits for water quantity to be set in regional plans to manage the cumulative impacts of abstraction. Defining abstraction limits is important for establishing a level of environmental protection and clarifying availability of the water resource to users.

Comparing the limits against actual water use from active consents and permitted activities characterises the status of water allocation (under or over-allocated). This is important because the NPS provides direction to councils to avoid over-allocation. However, there are considerable and practical difficulties in defining water resource use limits and subsequently calculating over-allocation. This working paper may help councils to undertake this task.

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