Waikato Regional Plan
The Waikato Regional Plan implements the Regional Policy Statement. It contains policy and methods to manage the natural and physical resources of the Waikato region.
Plan status
The Waikato Regional Plan is operative.
There is currently one proposed plan change: Proposed Waikato Regional Plan Change 1- Waikato and Waipa River Catchment. This introduces new rules to manage farming activities that may adversely affect freshwater quality in the Waikato and Waipa river catchment. It also contains objectives and policies which generally apply to all activities that affect water quality in these catchments.
What area does the plan cover?
The plan applies across the whole of the Waikato region, although some objectives, policies and rules apply only in specific parts of the region.
The plan does not apply to the coastal marine area (CMA) below mean high water springs. For objectives, policies and rules in this area refer to the Regional Coastal Plan.
Read the Waikato Regional Plan
Access the Waikato Regional Plan online using the link below. Select 'View all Regional Plans', then Waikato Regional Plan from the list of available regional plans.
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Expand below to view the full table of contents. To find out about rules that apply to particular activities, please refer to the activity guide within the plan itself.
The plan contains objectives, policies and implementation methods for:
- matters of significance to Māori
- water quality, flows and levels
- water takes
- efficient use of water
- discharges
- damming and diverting
- wetlands
- drilling
- non-point source discharges
- structures on the beds of rivers and lakes
- river and lake bed disturbance
- accelerated erosion
- discharges onto or into land
- contaminated sites
- air quality
- spray drift
- cross boundary processes
- monitoring and review
- information requirements for resource consents.
Some of the sections in the plan refer to Waikato Regional Plan maps. These maps show where waterbodies and geothermal systems in the region are classified for specific management purposes.
- Geothermal maps
- Water allocation maps
- Waterbody classification maps
To view all the maps, please refer to the online version of the plan (see link above).
If you need more help or information with any of the plan maps, please contact us.
What's in the plan?
View the Waikato Regional Plan in PDF format
Changes to the plan
Proposed changes
Recent and historical changes
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Freshwater Management Amendments - 9 June 2026
Clause 3.22 of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 requires regional councils to include a specific policy on natural inland wetlands in regional plans. This policy was inserted into the Waikato Regional Plan in 2021 as Policy 3.A.2.
Amendments made to this clause in 2022 introduced additional exceptions to the policy and were incorporated into the Waikato Regional Plan.
On 15 December 2025, further amendments to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management were approved and came into force on 15 January 2026. These amendments insert the words “or operational need” into the gateway test for quarrying and mining activities affecting natural inland wetlands.
Waikato Regional Council is required under section 55(2A) of the Resource Management Act 1991 to amend the Waikato Regional Plan to give effect to these latest amendments.
The required amendments to Policy 3.A.2 in Section 3A of the Waikato Regional Plan are set out here. The amended plan can be read above.