Wairau/Awatere Resource Management Plan 25 July 2014 Policy 1.12 In the 5 years following the operative date of this plan the Council will undertake resource reviews on the Southern Valley Management Zone, Awatere River and Waihopai River. Policy 1.13 In the 10 years following the operative date of this plan resource reviews will be carried out on the Wairau River, Wairau Aquifers and fresh water resources. Policy 1.14 Following completion of the investigations required as conditions of the resource consent for the operation of the Branch River hydro electric scheme (Marlborough District Council file U990161), and the completion of any other investigations undertaken in respect of this consent, and in any event no later than 1 June 2011, the Council will undertake a review for the Branch River downstream of the Branch hydro electric power intake weir for the purpose of determining the minimum sustainable flow requirements of the river. Amenity values will not be considered in this review. Domestic water extraction up to 10 m per day is exempt from requirements for 3 metering or water permits. For non-domestic extraction the term of water permits will be 10 years where the cumulative volume of water allocated through individual water permits has reached the Class A and (where there is a Class B limit set) Class B allocation limits. This will allow the adverse effects of abstraction in a situation of full or over-allocation to be addressed in a timely fashion. A 10 year term is also appropriate where water is to be taken from a water resource for which no SFR has been established due to the uncertainty over the cumulative effects of water extraction in these circumstances. The full and over allocation of water resources are issues being addressed through the review of the Wairau/Awatere Resource Management Plan. A water allocation framework that directs how these issues are to be resolved will be notified before December 2014, as required by the National Policy Statement Freshwater Management 2011. It is likely that the implementation of this framework will remove the need to limit duration in the manner set out in Policy 6.3.1.1.3. Resource reviews will be undertaken every 5 or 10 years depending on location, to ensure ongoing sustainable and equitable management of the resource. The interval of resource review is related to the level of understanding for the particular resource. The longer the interval between reviews for example 10 years, the greater the understanding of the resource and less potential there is for adverse effects. Users will not be required to apply for renewal of consent at either the 5 or 10 year interval as terms will be granted for 30 year periods. Instead, the Council will use monitoring information gathered over the 5 or 10 year period to determine the appropriateness of the existing quota volumes. Where monitoring information indicates that allocation management is not sustainable, consent volumes will be reduced on a pro rata basis across all existing water permits for that resource. Monitoring information can also indicate situations where more users can be granted permits. Individual monitoring information gathered from water meter readings will be used to consider the appropriateness of an individual’s allocation volume. Modifications could include reducing allocation volumes. It should be noted that to date, renewal of a water permit for the Wairau Aquifer has not been refused given the availability of supply. Water will be allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis through the triple class permit system of allocation. This framework allows a certain quantity of water to be allocated to users. This quantity is called a Class and, as successive permits are issued, 6 - 8