The 2017 Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry27 recommended changes to improve the protection for drinking water sources, including mapping source protection zones to:28
… remove the need for individual, and costly, analysis by consent applicants and consent authorities as to whether the [NES-DW regulations] apply to a particular activity. Instead, their application would be objective and direct.
The spatial mapping of land areas posing a risk to drinking water supplies would be a one-off, low-cost improvement in the management of drinking water. It would provide certainty to resource users and consenting authorities about which land areas had the potential to contribute contaminants to a drinking water supply, and help regional councils meet their obligations to protect drinking water sources.
We are consulting on whether to introduce a new requirement in the NPS-FM for source water risk management areas (SWRMAs) to be mapped.
This would require regional councils to:
- map SWRMAs for relevant drinking water sources in their regions according to the following criteria:
- SWRMA 1 – the zone directly surrounding the source water intake, where there is an immediate risk of contamination
- SWRMA 2 – a microbial risk area, to limit the concentrations of microbial pathogens before abstraction
- SWRMA 3 – the entire surface water catchment, or groundwater capture zone, to protect against persistent contaminants
- have regard to, or use methods similar to, those described in Delineating source water risk management areas when undertaking SWRMA mapping
- complete mapping within five years of the start date of the requirement, and prioritise the order of mapping by risk (ie, mapping the largest and most under-pressure sources first)
- publish SWRMAs in a public inventory alongside other associated information.
We are also seeking feedback on whether the mapping requirements should be incorporated into regional plans, and whether it is appropriate to set a lower population threshold for them, (ie, from a previously proposed 500-person threshold to a 100-person threshold – noting this would not amend the scope of applicable sources under the NES-DW).
This requirement is proposed for inclusion in the NPS-FM rather than the NES-DW, because section 45A of the RMA allows a national policy statement to state methods or requirements that local authorities must apply, including the use of models and formulas.
For further information on this topic, refer to the impact analysis document entitled Interim Regulatory Impact Statement: Amending human drinking water source protection policies.
27 Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua. Government Inquiry into Havelock North Drinking Water. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
28 Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua. 2017. Report of the Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry: Stage 2. Auckland: Department of Internal Affairs. para [646].
