Kaitoke Weir - Hearing Panel decision

A panel of independent commissioners has today granted an application by Greater Wellington Water (GWW) to vary its resource consent for taking water from the Hutt River, subject to a range of conditions.

The consent decision enables GWW to reduce the minimum permitted flow in the Hutt River over the Kaitoke Weir for a period of three years, while the Stuart Macaskill water storage lakes at Te Marua are seismically strengthened. This reduction to the low flow could be required in dry summers to maintain water supply to Upper Hutt, Hutt, Wellington and Porirua cities.

Under current consent conditions GWW must cease taking water when the flow over the Kaitoke Weir drops to 600 litres per second. The consent variation allows a further 200 litres/ second water to be taken until the flow over the weir drops to 400 litres/second.

The Hearing Panel concluded that the reduction in flow would assist GWW to provide a secure water supply during the planned upgrading of the Te Marua storage lakes. The upgrading of the lakes would strengthen the resilience of the storage lakes in seismic events and increase their water storage capacity. This would provide for a more reliable long term supply of water to the people and communities of the Hutt Valley, Wellington and Porirua.

“These are positive benefits of the proposal and they will contribute to enabling people and communities to provide for their social, economic and cultural wellbeing in a manner consistent with [the Resource Management Act],” the Hearing Panel says in its decision.

The Hearing Panel also noted that the reduced minimum flow would prevail for only a temporary period and the conditions of the consent, including amendments made by the panel, would ensure that any potential effects on the river’s ecosystem health were no more than minor.

Consent conditions include:

A Hutt River low flow management plan (HRLFMP) (the condition provides for a review of the HRLFMP during the period of the consent variation should results require it)

An ecological monitoring plan with regular monitoring of water quality, aquatic animals and cyanobacteria (potentially toxic blue-green algae) in the Hutt River (the condition provides for a review of the monitoring plan during the period of the consent variation should results require it)

Appropriate actions developed to respond to any adverse effects identified through monitoring, including specific measures to monitor and respond to toxic algal blooms which can be linked back to the reduced low flow

Field studies to confirm that there are no adverse effects on fish migration

Regular consultation with a range of stakeholders including the recently established Friends of the Hutt River.

Hearing Panel’s full report