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Water Quantity

Freshwater resilience is critical to ongoing development and prosperity in Tairāwhiti, and the management of water quantity is a regional priority. Gisborne values water for a range of uses such as domestic and community supply, stock watering and food production, as well as cultural and recreational activities. The Waipaoa catchment accounts for roughly 90% of current regional demand, which is growing and will continue to challenge supply. 

Water quantity in the Gisborne District is managed under the Tairāwhiti Resource Management Plan. 

 

Gisborne District Council is undertaking a comprehensive review of this freshwater management framework. The review includes the Regional Freshwater Plan’s policies and rules to manage water quantity, the review of the Waipaoa Catchment Plan, as well as the development of six other catchment plans. These are being developed in conjunction with the community, focusing on freshwater management issues, including quantity limits within individual catchments.  

 

Water quantity is a key regional issue because future demand is predicted to challenge our available water supply, the reliability of which is impacted by climate change scenarios. The annual volume of our consented water takes is approximately 33 million cubic metres, and demand pressure is already felt in the Waipaoa Catchment, which accounts for 90% of the region’s consented volume. Climate change will affect the volatility and volume of water available to meet increasing demands that include horticultural development and municipal supply for our growing population.   

 

A key focus of the freshwater management review is sustainable limits to water use, balancing regional needs across economic, environmental, cultural and social values now and into the future.

Regional Summary
Water quantity data in this region

Regional councils collect information about how much water is available and manage resource consents for those wishing to take water from rivers or groundwater supplies. Use the buttons below to view regional information on: how much water is available, where it comes from and how its used.

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Rainfall {{waterAvailable.rainfall}} Runoff to sea {{waterAvailable.runoff}} Groundwater available: {{waterSource.groundwater}}
{{waterSource.groundwaterPercentAvailable}}% of total available Surface Water available: {{waterSource.surfacewater}}
{{waterSource.surfacewaterPercentAvailable}}% of total available Irrigation
{{waterUsage.irrigationLabel}} Industrial
{{waterUsage.industrialLabel}} Stock
{{waterUsage.stockLabel}} Hydroelectrical
{{waterUsage.hydroLabel}} Town supply
{{waterUsage.drinkingLabel}}
  • How much water is there in this region?

    Rainfall and runoff in this region

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    Rainfall and runoff

    Relative Volume Source Volume
    Rainfall total:
    {{waterAvailable.rainfall }}
         		rainfall Rainfall Total {{waterAvailable.rainfall}}
    Runoff total:
    {{waterAvailable.runoff }}
         		runoff Runoff to sea {{waterAvailable.runoff}}

    The table above shows the average amount of rainfall the region receives each year and how much of that flows out to sea. These are approximate figures only.

  • Water consents: where does water come from?

    The split between surface water and groundwater

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    Consented water by source

    Relative volumes
    Amount available to consent Surface water:
    {{waterSource.surfacewater}}
    available to consent         Groundwater:
    {{waterSource.groundwater}}
    available to consent
    Volume consented Surface water:
    {{surfaceWaterConsented()}}
    volume consented         Groundwater:
    {{groundwaterConsented()}}
    volume consented
    Source Amount available to consent Volume consented Consented as a percentage of available
    surface water ground water {{item.source}} {{item.amountAvailable}} {{item.volumeConsented}} {{item.percentageConsented}}
    {{waterSource.total.source}} {{waterSource.total.amountAvailable}} {{waterSource.total.volumeConsented}} {{waterSource.total.percentageConsented}}

    The table above shows how much water is available to use compared with the amount that is actually consented for use. It also shows how much of this water is surface water and how much is groundwater.

  • Water consents: How is water used?

    Consents by use in this region

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    Annual consented water use by type

    Overall annual volume for {{waterAvailable.year}}
    Relative breakdown
    Activity Percentage of total consented Total volume Number of consents
    {{item.displayText}} {{item.displayText}} - - No data available {{item.breakdownPercentage}}% {{item.totalVolume}} {{item.numberOfConsents}}
    Total {{waterUsage.total.percentageConsented}}% {{waterUsage.total.totalVolume}} {{waterUsage.total.numberOfConsents}}

    The above table shows the proportion of water consented for irrigation, industrial, stock, town supply and other. It excludes hydro electricity. In this region/management zone {{hydroUsage.totalVolume}}/year is consented for hydro-electricity and makes up {{hydroUsage.percentageConsented}}% of the total water volume consented for this region/management zone

Surface Water Zones
Surface Water zones in the Gisborne region

Select the water management zone you'd like to see information on by clicking the buttons below or navigate using the map.

Greater Waipaoa Surface Water

22 Sites
Gisborne East Coast Surface Water

38 Sites
Groundwater Zones
Groundwater management zones in the Gisborne region

Select the groundwater management zone you'd like to see information on by clicking the buttons below or navigate using the map.

Greater Waipaoa Groundwater

53 Sites

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