5 March 2015 Chapter 11 Urban Environments Policy 5.7 Ensure drains and water courses for removal of stormwater and floodwater can be maintained in a hydraulically efficient form. The Plan seeks to ensure that residential developments are served with potable water supplies, and waste collection, treatment and disposal systems which do not contaminate the environment or compromise community health. Blenheim is fully serviced with water supply and a reticulated sewage collection and treatment system. Therefore all new residential development within or as an extension of the Blenheim area will be required to connect to these systems in the interests of maintaining community health. Rules relating to the density of subdivision and development will take account of the finite limitations of the existing servicing infrastructure (including the receiving capacity of the sewage treatment system) and these rules will reflect the capacity of this servicing infrastructure to accommodate additional growth. The Council recognises that further subdivision and residential development within Renwick is not sustainable until sewage reticulation is provided. Therefore, further development will be controlled until it is economically viable to reticulate the town. Other townships may also be facing difficulties with the disposal of sewage on-site. However, given the small size of the townships, sewage reticulation may never be economically viable. For example, because Grovetown has high water table levels, groundwater contamination is possible if development were to continue uncontrolled. Water supply and sewage disposal in Rarangi requires careful management to ensure that sewage contamination and saltwater intrusion does not occur. By ensuring that contaminants do not enter stormwater systems, for example petrol and oil from service stations, some of the adverse effects of stormwater discharges on water bodies can be avoided. In the urban environment open stormwater channels and drains are usually kept as small as practical and need to be maintained in an efficient and effective manner. Objective 6 Promote the efficient use of energy in the design and construction of residential subdivisions and residential dwellings. Policy 6.1 Encourage incorporation of principles of energy efficiency in the design and construction of residential subdivisions. Policy 6.2 Enable optimum siting of buildings on residential lots to maximise opportunities for the implementation of energy efficient design and construction of individual residential dwellings. Policy 6.3 Promote compact urban form in the established urban settlements of the Wairau/ Awatere. The objective and policies above follow on from Policy 7.5.3(a) of the Marlborough Regional Policy Statement which is an overall policy for energy efficiency in Marlborough. The design and layout of residential subdivisions together with the location and design of individual buildings can influence energy use. Residential settlements which extend 11 - 11