Commonly asked questions - Lake Taupō Zone

Either complete the online Request for service form or phone 0800 800 401.

No, Waikato Regional Council does not provide funding towards the cost of applying or implementing a resource consent for catchment or river management works.

Typically these include:

• Excluding stock from stream edges, bush, wetland, seep, gully and steep hill country areas.
• Enhancing biodiversity through planting of suitable native plant species in stock proof areas.
• Enhancing water quality through restoring streambanks and wetlands and constructing sediment traps.
• Land use change and re-vegetation for harvested forestry blocks or steep land or slip prone land, with either native plants or appropriate open space planting with exotics (such as poplars), and fencing for retirement of stock.

Waikato Regional Council can offer up to a 35% grant assistance for works within priority catchments. If you are a landowner in one of our high priority catchments, then through our partnership programme Waikato Regional Council may be able to offer a higher level of grant assistance. Your property will need to be at least 4 hectares to receive funding.

Yes, funding is available to landowners who have signed an agreement called an Environment Programme Agreement (EPA) – drawn up for the landowner’s particular situation. If you receive more than $35,000 in funding a covenant will be required on the title to protect the investment that has been made.

Waikato Regional Council may be able to provide funding - to help remove obstructions, restore gullies and address stream erosion in in the Lake Taupo zone. If the issue relates to the Waikato River, then Waikato Regional Council can offer advice and assistance.

Landowners have the primary responsibility for maintaining rivers and streams on their property.

Landowners can do this by:

• Managing stock to keep rivers and other waterways clear.
• Planting vegetation to protect and stabilize streambanks.
• Maintaining vegetation to prevent waterway obstruction.
• Managing animal and plant pests.

Waikato Regional Council can undertake the removal of major blockages and obstructions beyond normal landowner maintenance.

For activities like obstruction removal, the landowner is expected to provide in-kind contributions such as dropping/reinstating fences to provide access and disposing of material removed from a channel. For larger projects such as erosion protection of riverbanks, Waikato Regional Council can fund up to 50% of the total cost, although a landowner can lessen their share through in-kind works.

Start with the online Request for Service form and select ‘Regulatory, consents and compliance’.

Following this or alternatively, contact your local Waikato Regional Council office for additional information and advice. If the Waikato Regional Plan permitted activities cannot be complied with, then a resource consent may be required.