TONGARIRO POWER SCHEME ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 01.07.14 30.06.15 ENVIRONMENTAL 15 reports ordiscuss matters directly withinterested parties. summary ofit.GenesisEnergy ishappy to provide furtherdetails ortechnical of thisreport to reproduce orreplicate thisinformation, rather to provide a initiatives andagreements thathave fed into thisreport. Itisnottheintention There are anumberoftechnical reports, research programmes, environmental (hereafter referred to as‘thereporting period’). Tongariro Power Schemefor theoperating period1July 2014 to 30June2015 This report provides asummary ofkey environmental outcomes atthe 02 01 INTRODUCTION

02 1.1 Document Overview HIGHLIGHTS 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015 02 1.2 Resource Consents Overview 02 1.3 How to use this document Whio Numbers The 2014/15 whio breeding season saw a record year with 114 02 1.4 Genesis Energy’s Approach breeding pairs and 218 ducklings living in the approximately 48 kilometres of to Environmental Management survey area downstream of the Western Diversion structures. With multiple 02 1.4.1 Environmental Management System single adults also detected during monitoring surveys, more than 450 whio 03 1.4.2 Resource Consents Management System were recorded this reporting period thriving within the predator trapped area 03 1.4.3 Hydrology (see Section 5.2). 03 1.5 Feedback Relationship Agreement In 2014 Genesis Energy entered 04 02 TONGARIRO POWER SCHEME into a relationship agreement and easement arrangement with the Lake 05 2.1 Operating the Tongariro Power Scheme Rotoaira Trust and Lake Rotoaira Forest Trust (who own much of the land 05 2.2 Climate and Power Generation surrounding Lake Rotoaira), which recognises Genesis Energy’s use of the lake and surrounding land for hydro generation. The easement also provides 06 03 EASTERN DIVERSION Genesis Energy with greater long term certainty for their current activities 07 3.1 Wahianoa Aqueduct (see Section 6.1). 07 3.1.1 Hydrology 07 3.1.2 Aquatic Ecosystems and Water Quality Rotoaira Weed Harvest Prolific weed growth on Lake Rotoaira resulted in vast rafts of Hornwort and Lagarosiphon during the summer growing season 07 3.1.3 Ngati Rangi this reporting period. Genesis Energy and the Lake Rotoaira Trust undertook 08 3.1.4 Mangaio Power Station a weed harvesting trial that saw 2,610 m³ of green weed (783 tons) proactively 08 3.2 Lake removed from the lake via a weed harvesting operation, leased from the Bay 08 3.2.1 Hydrology of Plenty Regional Council, during May and June (see Section 6.1.2). 09 3.2.2 Sediment (Erosion, Transport and Deposition) 09 3.3 Elvers at Lake Otamangakau Over 5,000 juvenile eels (elvers) were 11 3.3.1 Hydrology collected and transferred upstream to the Upper and into Lake Otamangakau during the reporting period. This represents the first 12 3.3.2 Aquatic Ecosystems and Water Quality significant tuna recruitment since the Western Diversion structures were first 14 3.3.3 Natural Character and Amenity Issues established over 40 years ago (see Section 6.1.3). 15 3.3.4 Recreation/Tourism 16 3.3.5 Ngati Whitikaupeka, Ngati Tamakopiri and Ngati Hauiti Tokiahuru Agreement During the reporting period Genesis Energy and Ngati 16 3.3.6 Moawhango Community Rangi negotiated an “Agreed Flow” to be released from the Tokiahuru Intake of the Wahianoa Aqueduct as part of the Mitigation Agreement. This flow is aimed 17 04 at developing an ecology that will enhance tuna (eels) and freshwater crayfish 18 4.1 Hydrology (koura) populations. A monitoring programme is being developed to determine 20 4.2 Aquatic Ecosystems and Water Quality the success of the new flow at achieving this outcome (see Section 3.1.3) 22 4.3 Sediment (Erosion, Transport and Deposition) 23 4.4 Recreation and Tourism Kiwi Forever – 10 year anniversary 2015 marked the 10 year anniversary of the Kiwi Forever programme at Tongariro, and is the third year that Genesis 25 05 WESTERN DIVERSION Energy has been involved. The programme is a collaboration between 26 5.1 Hydrology Untouched World, DoC, Ngati Rangi and Genesis Energy. Participants on the 28 5.2 Aquatic Ecosystems and Water Quality programme learn about whio conservation, healthy rivers and striking the 31 5.3 Enhancement Trust balance, alongside the Ngati Rangi world view (see Section 8.3). 32 5.4 Recreation and Tourism 32 5.4.1 Recreational Releases 32 5.4.2 Recreational Initiatives ABBREVIATIONS 32 5.5 Whanganui Iwi AER Annual Environmental Report 34 06 LAKE ROTOAIRA/ AFDM ​​ Ash-free dry mass 35 6.1 Lake Rotoaira BoPRC Bay of Plenty Regional Council CDMP​​ Construction Debris Management Plan 35 6.1.1 Hydrology CSR​​ Comprehensive Safety Review 36 6.1.2 Aquatic Ecosystems and Water Quality DOC Department of Conservation 36 6.1.3 Lake Rotoaira Trust ECNZ Electricity Corporation of 36 6.2 Tokaanu Stream EMS​​ Environmental Management System 37 6.3 Tokaanu Tailrace and Lake Taupo EPT​ Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (the three insect orders commonly used to test water quality) 37 6.3.1 Hydrology Maximum Levels ERLAWS​ Eastern Ruapehu Lahar Alarm and Warning System 37 6.3.2 Aquatic Ecosystems and Water Quality EWP Environment Working Party 38 07 SCHEME-WIDE OUTCOMES FNU​​ Formazin Nephelometric Units GETAC​​ Genesis Energy Aquatic Centre 39 7.1 Ngati Tuwharetoa - Genesis Energy Committee GIS​​ Geographic Information System 39 7.2 Central Blue Duck Conservation Trust GWh​​ Gigawatt hour 40 7.3 Publicly Available Hydrology Information IBI Index of Biological Integrity 41 7.4 Volcanic Activity Management Plan (VAMP) KEF Kayak Education Fund 41 7.5 Maintenance Activities LRFT​​ Lake Rotoaira Forest Trust masl​​ meters above sea level – Moturiki Datum 43 7.6 Run-off Management Plan MPI​​ Ministry for Primary Industries 43 7.7 Dam Safety MCI ​​ Macro-invertebrate Community Index 43 7.8 Oil Spill Response MfE Ministry for the Environment 44 7.9 Public Complaints MVA Megavolt Ampere 44 7.10 Regional Council Audit MW​​ Megawatt MWRC​​ Manawatu Wanganui Regional Council 44 7.11 Manawatu Wanganui Regional Council Audit NIWA National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research 45 08 COMMUNITY & ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES NZDF​​ New Zealand Defence Force 46 NZSOLD New Zealand Society on Large Dams 8.1 Whio Forever NZTA​​ New Zealand Transport Agency 46 8.1.1 Sponsorship for Lower Tongariro Community Blue Duck Project PIT​​ Passive Integrated Transponder 47 8.2 Tongariro National Trout Centre QMCI Quantitative Macro-invertebrate Community Index 47 8.2.1 Taupo for Tomorrow Education Programme RCMS Resource Consent Management System 48 8.3 Kiwi Forever RECC Renewable Energy Control Centre RDC Council 48 8.4 Hillary Outdoors Sponsorship RMA​​ Resource Management Act (1991) 49 8.5 Aquatic Biosecurity SHMAK​ Stream Health Monitoring Assessment Kit 49 8.6 Turangi Community Health Centre TDC​​ Council 49 8.7 Genesis Energy Turangi Aquatic Centre TFEF​​ Tongariro Fishery Enhancement Fund 50 8.8 Turangi Public Library - Summer Reading Programme TNTC Tongariro National Trout Centre TPS Tongariro Power Scheme Supported by Genesis Energy TRMP ​​ Tongariro River Monitoring Plan 50 8.9 Te Whare Waka - Tokaanu Water Sports Centre TSMG Tokaanu Stream Management Group 50 8.10 John Ball Films - History of the Tongariro Power Development VAMP Volcanic Activity Management Plan 50 8.11 Construction Debris Removal WDC Wanganui District Council WRC Waikato Regional Council 51 09 KEY OBJECTIVES 2014-15 REVIEW WHIONE ​Whio Operation Nest Egg 52 9.1 Review of Key Objectives for 2014-2015 WRET ​​ Whanganui River Enhancement Trust 53 9.2 Key Objectives 2015-2016 Cover photo: Genesis Energy staff enjoy a recreational release on the 54 REFERENCES 10 , while a whio keeps watch.

Back photo: Rafters prepare for a trip down the Tongariro River, with Poutu Intake in the background. 02 TONGARIRO // 15 effects oftheschemehasbeen gathered. an extensive amountofresearch andinformation ontheongoing construction. Since 1991,withmulti-stakeholder collaboration, technical information wascollected priorto thescheme’s researched inNew Zealand.Asignificant amountof baseline The TPSenvironment isarguably oneofthemost extensively 1.2 RESOURCECONSENTSOVERVIEW www.genesisenergy.co.nz copy ofthisdocument,can befound onthewebsite: More information aboutGenesisEnergy, includinganelectronic references). undertaken (refer to specific technical reports listed inthe information onmonitoring programmes andotherinitiatives Annual Reportfor thisinformation) orprovide extensive detailed It doesnotdetail company strategy orperformance (refer to the environmental andstakeholder activitiesrelating to theTPS. the company’s AnnualReport.Itprovides anoverview ofall This AERbridgesthegapbetween site specific reporting and Energy’s performance asacompany. The Company’s AnnualReportprovides anoverview ofGenesis site/local level. requirements to stakeholders. They address specificissues ata detailed technical reports, auditreports andvarious reporting documentation onitsactivitieseachyear (Figure 1).Theseinclude Genesis Energy produces asuite ofreports andother 1.1 DOCUMENTOVERVIEW within thecommunities inwhichitoperates. issues asthey ariseandto develop closer working relationships Genesis Energy aimsto beaccessible to thepublic,to address and follows theprevious year’s (2013/14)report. Thisreport will: June 2015(the‘reporting period’).Thisisthetenth AERfor theTPS activities whichoccurred attheTPSbetween 1July 2014and30 is to update communities andstakeholders onthewiderange of the Tongariro Power Scheme(TPS).Thepurposeofthisreport Welcome to the2014/15AnnualEnvironmental Report(AER)for hihiko motenei rohe oTongariro. Nau maihaere maikitenei Ripoata Taiao epaanakite mahi 01 INTRODUCTION

FIGURE 1//Reporthierarchy atGenesisEnergy. define environmental objectives attheTPS for thenext report oncommunity andenvironmental initiatives; and report backonkey projects; provide anupdate onmonitoring andresearch programmes; 12 months. provide anoverview ofresource consent compliance attheTPS;

following key geographical regions: This report documentsenvironmental outcomes basedonthe 1.3 HOW TO USETHISDOCUMENT consent conditions. These outcomes are referred to as‘agreements’. to implement mitigationoutcomes thatare outsidetheresource location. Insuchcases, GenesisEnergy works directly with parties consent conditions because they cannot beeasily tiedto aspecific in time.However, someissues cannot beaddressed viaresource require specificactions to occur atspecific locations andpoints possible, outcomes resulted inresource consent conditions that outcomes thatoperate outsideoftheresource consents. Where process; bothresource consent conditions aswell asmitigation This documentrefers to arange ofoutcomes from theconsultative the consents process. operational reasons, have addedto information gathered during conditions andsomeundertaken byGenesisEnergy for Ongoing monitoring programmes, somerequired byconsent continued operation oftheTPS. to acomprehensive suite ofresource consents thatauthorisethe The extensive programme ofconsultation andresearch hasled agree onoutcomes to address theseissues. how theseissues shouldbeinvestigated and,inmost cases, to comprehensive consultation processes, to defineissues, to identify New ZealandLimited (ECNZ)andthenGenesisEnergy to develop for theTPS.Thesepartiesassisted theElectricity Corporation of a long periodoftime,intheprocess to renew resource consents Many individualsandorganisations were directly involved, over website: (BMS). Thispolicycan also befound ontheGenesisEnergy overarching documentsintheBusiness ManagementSystem by theGenesisEnergy Board (seebelow), andisnow oneofthe and CommunityEngagementPolicy Statement wasapproved During thereporting period,theEnvironmental Management The EMSalignswiththecore Companybehaviours of: day operational activities. stage ofanyproject through to GenesisEnergy’s normalday-to- physical resources andtheenvironment, from theconceptual The EMSappliesto allactivitiesinvolving theuseofnatural and tools thatare well integrated withothercore business systems. (EMS) whichincorporates asuite ofmanagementprocesses and Genesis Energy operates anEnvironmental ManagementSystem 1.4.1 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 1.4 GENESISENERGY’S APPROACH TO background information onspecificissues. ‘Orange text like this’ the report thatrelate to specific resource consent conditions. Consent Description# ‘Bold The report alsoprovides non-geographical information for:

Eastern Diversion (Wahianoa, Lake Moawhangoandthe Do what’s right–For eachother,ourcustomers Make ithappen–Bebrave, smart,real anddeliver together. Community andEnvironmental Initiatives. Scheme-wide Outcomes; and Lake Rotoaira andLake Taupo. Western Diversion (WhanganuiRiver Catchment); and Tongariro River; Moawhango River); and communities Keep itsimple –Make iteasyfor ourcustomers andourselves text www.genesisenergy.co.nz/environmental-management. like this’ will help you to find your way around the report.

throughout thereport provides useful

(condition) identifiesthepartsof

or processes to best achieve 100%compliance. identify anyimprovements thatcould bemadeto RCMS systems the auditisto ensure correct procedures are beingfollowed andto undertaken onabiennialbasisatgeneration sites. Thepurposeof An internal RCMSandenvironmental compliance auditis party agreements. or view potentially confidential information contained withinthird Environmental Team can make changesand update/sign off tasks, company’s intranet butonly designated administrators withinthe All GenesisEnergy staff can access theRCMSthrough the not overlooked. obligations effectively andthatessential requirements are ensure that GenesisEnergy managesitsstatutory andstakeholder and reports onthestatus ofthese. ThepurposetheRCMSisto defines prompts andmonitors actions required bytheir conditions, consents, third partyagreements, andpermitted activities,and (RCMS). Thissystem holdsallinformation relating to resource Energy has developed aResource ConsentManagement System To helpmanagecompliance across allgeneration sites, Genesis 1.4.2 RESOURCE CONSENTMANAGEMENT SYSTEM environmental managementsystems, namely ISO14001. is aligned,where appropriate, withinternational standards for Policy Statement intheBMShierarchy. GenesisEnergy’s EMS Processes, Instructions andGuidelineswhichwillsitbelow this Genesis Energy iscurrently reviewing itsEnvironmental Standards, ensure that: Management System thatalignswithcore Companyvalues to The Companyachieves thisbyimplementing anEnvironmental around ourassets. people, communities andtheenvironment isexercised atand Company’s business activitiesandthatadutyofcare towards cultural awareness andresponsibility are cornerstones ofthe Energy iscommitted to ensuringthatenvironmental, socialand Whilst meetingitscommitments to itsshareholders, Genesis

The Companyseeksto foster robust, long-term relationships The Companytakes acontinuous improvement approach in The Companyalignswithinternationally accepted The Companyaccounts for itsuseofnatural resources and The Companyseeksfullregulatory compliance asaminimum The Companyensures thatenvironmental risksfrom its The Companyinvestigates andunderstands theeffects ofits The role oftangata whenua(thepeople oftheland)askaitiaki The Companypromotes environmental andsocialawareness The Companyoperates withintegrity andadutyofcare where itoperates. with Tangata Whenua,communities andkey stakeholders through implementation, monitoring, auditandreview. respect to environmental andstakeholder management environmental managementstandards. seeks to minimiseusewhile meetingbusiness requirements. standard andpublicly reports onitsenvironmental performance. Management Policy. procedures andinaccordance withtheEnterprise-Wide Risk risk appetite through theCompany’s riskmanagement managed inamannerthatisconsistent withtheCompany’s operations are identified,documented, audited andeffectively its business commitments. solutions to avoid, remedy, ormitigate thesewhile achieving operations ontheenvironment andseekscollaborative is respected. within theirrohe (land)andtheTreaty ofWaitangi principles (guardians) ofthenatural resources andtaonga (treasures) Genesis Energy. as aresponsibility ofallpeople working at,orfor, in whichwe operate. towards theenvironment, stakeholders andcommunities ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ANDCOMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT POLICY STATEMENT

Moawhango maindrawdown valve, theflow isnow recorded flow station thatthissite has replaced. Similarly, attheLake records thevalve discharge more accurately thanthedownstream A new station wasinstalled attheOtamangakau Valve whichnow Moawhango rainfall sites. Moawhango Tunnel valve flow andtheWhakapapanuiLake Te Whaiauwater level site, theWaikato Falls flow station, the flow station, theLake Otamangakau water level site, theLake include theLake Moawhangowater level site, theTe WhaiauCanal for GenesisEnergy. Examples ofinstrumentation upgrades level ofcompliance along withmore efficientoperation ofplant improvements to themonitoring network. Thishasled to ahigh During thereporting periodtheHydrology staff continued market information. Energy Control Centre (RECC)together witharange ofplantand time. Thisinformation issentto GenesisEnergy’s Renewable rainfall data iscollected inreal-time andtelemetered nearreal- around theTPS.Avariety offlow, water level, water qualityand Genesis Energy hasanextensive hydrology monitoring network 1.4.3 HYDROLOGY development oftheRCMSmeanthisproject hasbeendeferred. period, however ITinfrastructure upgrades andthepossible re- planned to incorporate these changes in the RCMS in the reporting ensuring thatthesystem ismore user-friendly. Aproject was were identifiedincludingenhanced reporting functionalityand During the2012/13reporting period,improvements to theRCMS the audit. improvements were identifiedandimplemented asa result of the TPSresource consents andthird partyagreements. Minor An internal auditwascompleted duringthereporting periodof Attn: Environmental Lead–NorthIsland TURANGI 3353 Private Bag36 State Highway47 Renewable Energy –Tokaanu Power Station and layout. Contact details are asfollows: easy to understand. Your feedback iswelcome onbothcontent Genesis Energy hasworked to make thisreport informative and 1.5 FEEDBACK very highstandard andallcorrect procedures were followed. externally audited. Itwasfound thatthedata wascollected to a During thereporting periodtheHydrology data hasbeen models inconjunction withNgatiRangi(seeSection3.1.3). be primarily usedfor feeding into habitat andflow assessment flow stations installed onthe Wahianoa Aqueductwhichwill to share thiswithstakeholders. Anexample ofthisisthenew environmental projects withtheirtechnical expertise andability Hydrology staff supported theimplementation ofkey hydrological network. record andare partofaholistic approach towards improving the These upgrades provide amore reliable, accurate andcomplete operated, including for lake level managementandflushingflows. more accurate flow record duringtimeswhenthe valve isbeing using acoustic pipeflow sensors. Thissite willnow provide a

03 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 04 TONGARIRO // 15 02 POWER SCHEME TONGARIRO conditions andoperating withintheelectricity market rules. requirements while maintaining compliance withresource consent efficiently aspossible, to maximiseelectricity generation revenue A 24/7Generation Control team runstheTPSaseffectively and range ofplantandmarket information. Control Centre (RECC)atTokaanu Power Station, together witha time. Thisinformation isbrought into theRenewable Energy quality data iscollected inreal timeandtelemetered nearreal around theTPS.Avariety offlow, water level, rainfall andwater Genesis Energy hasanextensive hydrology monitoring network 2.1 OPERATING THETONGARIRO POWER SCHEME Tailrace withnegligible downstream effects. being able to discharge large amountsofwater into theTokaanu arises asaresult ofusingwater stored within Lake Rotoaira and thus providing securityfor theelectricity system. Thisability increase load from low levels to fullload inamatter ofminutes, Zealand power system istheabilityofTokaanu Power Station to An additionalbenefitthatiscritical to theoperation ofthe New day. Atnight-time,itreduces thehighvoltages astheload alters. voltage (pressure) onthegrid aselectricity travels northduringthe provides essential supportto thetransmission gridbyboosting the ideally located along themainsouth–north electricity transfer route, system islocated intheSouthIsland.TheTokaanu Power Station, A substantial amount ofgeneration withintheNew Zealandsupply The TPSplaysanimportant role inNew Zealand’s electricity grid. megawatts (MW),utilisingthesameflow ofwater. mid-1990s, whichincreased thestation’s outputfrom 220to 240 upgrade ofTokaanu Power Station’s turbine runners duringthe concepts andto improve efficiency. An example ofthisisthe been modified over recent years to take advantage ofnew design facilities elsewhere inNew Zealand.Individualcomponents have power stations isrelatively moderncompared to hydro generating The generating equipmentatTokaanu, Rangipo andMangaio electricity supply. the TPSprovides asignificantly greater proportion ofthenation’s River. Onaninstantaneous basis,whenoperating atfullcapacity, via additionalgeneration atpower stations along theWaikato Tokaanu, RangipoandMangaiopower stations andtheremainder New Zealand’s annualelectricity demand,3.5%ofthisfrom the The water diverted bytheTPSproduces approximately 5%of of rainfall inshortperiodsoftime. subject to tropical cyclones thatcan result insignificant amounts variability from year to year. Thecatchments oftheschemeare the central NorthIslandvolcanoes. There isalsovery highrainfall elevation: itranges from 1400mmatTurangi to over 3400mmat rainfall varies extensively across thearea, mainly inrelation to the rainfall derived from north-west frontal systems. Meanannual area come from thenorth-west andthesouth-west, withmost of The dominantweather patterns thataffect river flows intheTPS that water into Lake Taupo. to theRangipoandTokaanu power stations before discharging scheme usesaseriesoflakes, canals andtunnelsto bringwater Island volcanoes, MountRuapehu,Tongariro andNgauruhoe.The water comes from theKaimanawaRangesandcentral North , Whanganui,MoawhangoandTongariro. Most ofthe The TPSislocated intheheadwaters offour majorcatchments: 1987, andthento GenesisEnergy inApril1999. to theElectricity Corporation ofNew ZealandLimited (ECNZ)in the TPStransferred from theNew ZealandElectricity Department constructed inthearea duringschemedevelopment. Ownership of bridges andhousing,includingthetownship ofTurangi, was was commissioned inlate 1982.Infrastructure suchasroads, 1973 andthelast majordevelopment, theRangipoPower Station, and 1983.TheTokaanu Power Station first generated electricity in of thecentral volcanic plateau. Itwasconstructed between 1960 the energy oftherivers andstreams thatflow from themountains The TPSwasconceived inthe1950’s to generate electricity using map insidethebackcover. Taupo. Thelocation andfeatures oftheschemeare shown onthe (TPS), whichissituated inthecentral NorthIsland,southofLake Genesis Energy owns andoperates theTongariro Power Scheme 02 TONGARIRO POWER SCHEME

June andpriorto thisrainfall wasbelow theannualaverage. Western Diversion where alarge amountofrain fell from Aprilto also mirrored intheriver flow data. Asimilartrend occurred onthe and Tukino) show alower thanaverage annualvolume, whichis The lower altituderain gaugesontheEastern Diversion (Waipakahi which thelow altituderain gaugeswere more sheltered. reporting period.Thisrainfall coincided withsoutherly winds,from when 150%oftherainfall occurred inthelast three monthsofthe totals were equalto theannualaverage upuntilthemonthofApril sites (KarikaringaandRuatahuna) wasabove average. Therainfall rainfall measured atGenesisEnergy’s highaltitudemonitoring shown inTable 1.Duringthereporting periodthevolume of Results ofrainfall monitoring duringthereporting periodare 2.2 CLIMATE ANDPOWER GENERATION their standard operating limits(includingresource consent limits). the Generation Controllers whenvarious parameters approach all aspectsofthescheme,enablingremote control andalerting upgrade in2009assists theoperations team, providing details on A complex operational control system thatunderwent asignificant hydro-power stations located onthe . Waikato catchment bytheTPSandthensubsequently usedbythe does notincludeadditionalgeneration from water diverted into the the annualdemandofapproximately 161,125households,Note: this produced inthereporting periodwasenoughelectricity to power of 8,000kWh/yr(Electricity Authority,2013; p1),the1,289GWh Based onanaverage figure ofelectricity consumption perhousehold period wasslightly below average. reporting period.Generation for theTPSasawhole duringthis Station generated 8GWh, givingatotal of1,289GWh for the Rangipo Power Station generated 563GWh andMangaio Power Tokaanu Power Station generated 718gigawatthours (GWh), increased theaverage flow atthissite. the increase inhighflow events duringthelatter partofthe year flow (101%)duringthe reporting period.Despite a long dryperiod, The Tongariro River atthePoutu Intake site recorded meanannual requirements attheWhanganuiTe Maire flow station. not diverting fullflow for 109days to meettheminimumflow reflected onthe Western Diversion where theintakes were inflows were at75%ofthe long term mean. Thiswasalso reflective ofthe long periodbetween August andAprilwhere Eastern Diversion) had90%ofmeanannualinflows, whichis The upperTongariro andtheMoawhangocatchments (onthe larger thanameanannualflood. Diversion occurred on27April,statistically thisfloodwasno occurred on20June.Whilst thelargest floodonthe Western flow station hadanannual exceedance probability of37%;this inflows. Thelargest flood forthe yearatthe Tongariro at Waipakihi the periodfrom Aprilto Junewhichshowed amarked increase in This year distinguishes itselffrom theseprevious two years by spring withanextended periodoflow flow from October to April. previous two years where only average rainfall fell inwinter and on theWestern Diversion. Therainfall patterns were similarto the mean ontheEastern Diversion and103%ofthelong term mean reporting period,withnatural inflows at93%ofthe long-term River flows withintheTPS were slightly below average for the Whakapapanui Ruapehu Met Turangi Met Tukino Waipakihi Ruatahuna Karikaringa Monitoring Site TABLE 1//G enesis Energy rainfall monitoring duringthereporting period. Rainfall Total (mm) 1,861 2,979 1,239 2,011 2,264 1,849 834 Percentage ofaverage (%) 112 109 121 110 89 93 88

05 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 06 TONGARIRO // 15 03 DIVERSION EASTERN Aqueduct are: Key outcomes oftheconsultative process for theWahianoa flows (seeSection3.1.3). Wahianoa Aqueductandtheinvestigation ofconnective andagreed to) thetributaries affected bythediversion ofwater through the the wayfor jointinitiatives includingresearch on(butnotlimited in December 2010between NgatiRangiandGenesisEnergy paved very constructive discussions. Therelationship agreement signed constructively until2010,whenthepartiesentered into lengthy but Ngati RangiandGenesisEnergy were unable to engage Assessment ofEnvironmental Effects (GenesisPower Ltd,2000). at thistimeare describedintheTongariro Power Development details oftheconsultation process andmonitoring undertaken flow monitoring andthepublicwarningofspill events. Further Scheme (TPS)andconsent conditions were agreed around during theprocess to renew consents for theTongariro Power Pulp International). Research andconsultation wasundertaken forest leased to ErnslawOneLtd(parent company ofWinstone for military training exercises andtheremainder iswithinaCrown the area thattheNew ZealandDefence Force (NZDF)actively uses access islimited to theWahianoa Aqueductaspartofitlieswithin The Wahianoa Aqueductiswithintherohe ofNgatiRangi.Public Volcanic Crater Lake. is periodically acidic,dueto itssource beingMountRuapehu’s diverted from themainstem oftheWhangaehuRiver asthisriver generally twice themeanflow oftheinflowing stream. Nowater is intake exceeds theintake capacity. Thecapacity ofeachintake is water passes over theintakes whentheflow upstream ofeach of theWhangaehuRiver via22intake structures. Duringfloods, The Wahianoa Aqueductdiverts water from atleast 26tributaries 3.1 WAHIANOA AQUEDUCT period isprovided below. an update on the monitoring work undertaken during the reporting A descriptionofthemajorstructures intheEastern Diversion and subsequent monitoring reports. Effects (GenesisPower Ltd,2000).Further details can befound in the Tongariro Power Development Assessment ofEnvironmental consultation process andmonitoring undertaken are describedin to fully understand effects over thelong term. Details ofthe consultative process, orwhere furthermonitoring isrequired there hasbeenachangeto theoperations resulting from the undertaken. Generally, additionalmonitoring is undertaken where have beenestablished orenhanced, ormitigationhasbeen been madeto power schemeoperations, monitoring programmes Tongariro Power Scheme(TPS).Where appropriate, changeshave Diversion to determine theeffects oftheongoingoperation ofthe undertaken ontherivers, streams andlakes oftheEastern A significant amountof research and consultation hasbeen back cover). Rangipo DamontheTongariro River (seeschememapinsidethe Dam andnorthto thedischarge pointofMoawhangoTunnel atthe southern flanksofMountRuapehu,eastward to theMoawhango The Eastern Diversion extends from the Wahianoa Aqueduct on the 03 EASTERNDIVERSION

no diversion ofcontaminated water bodies,withparticular public warningwhenintakes are closed andwater isallowed connective flows and research into agreed flows for fourof flow monitoring to confirm how muchwater isbeingdiverted the establishment ofarelationship agreement withNgatiRangi; emphasis on: rise immediately downstream ofsomestructures and; to flow down itsnatural course, which can result inasudden the tributaries to theWahianoa Aqueduct; and when;

real-time monitoring ofwater quality. the Volcanic ActivityManagementPlan(VAMP) and;

for several reasons including:highlevels inLake Moawhango, The Wahianoa Aqueductcan beturnedout(notdiverting water) to planneddischarge events. should thealarmsound.Relevant organisations are notifiedprior with signageidentifyinghazard areas andexplaining whatto do warns ofanypendingdischarge, plannedorunplanned,together Ernslaw OneLtd.Thesystem consists ofanaudible alarmthat established in consultation with the two key neighbours: NZDF and To mitigate potential hazards, apublicwarningsystem hasbeen downstream oftheintakes. released, which maycreate hazards inthesestreams immediately management purposes.Whenthesegates operate, water is both the Wahianoa Intake and Intake 2 for maintenance and hazard Public Warning Discharge to MangaioStream MWRC101277(1) compliance withthisresource consent requirement wasachieved. this structure thathave increased thisflow capacity andtherefore m specify thatthemaximumamountofwater able to bediverted is9 Maximum Flows Discharge to MangaioStream MWRC101277(6) nearby Tongariro atWaipakihi flow station. flows were observed to decrease, similar to flow recorded atthe with theextended dryperiodduringthereporting periodthese catchments contain alarge component ofground water, however was 3.3m The meanflow ofthediverted water during this reporting period diverted bytheWahianoa AqueductattheMangaioPower Station. Genesis Energy monitors thecombined flow ofallwater being 3.1.1 HYDROLOGY on thekawaora caused bytheEastern Diversion oftheTPS. mitigate someoftheenvironmental, cultural and spiritual effects interactive andenduring relationship andsetsoutsteps to of kawaora. The agreement fosters thebuildingofapositive, term RelationshipAgreement to work towards therestoration representing thepeoples ofNgatiRangiiwi,entered into along- In December 2010,GenesisEnergy and theNgatiRangiTrust, and responsibility to protect, nurture andupholdthekawaora. the Eastern Diversion ofthe TPSinhibitsNgatiRangi’s ability of thecatchment andawayfrom theirrohe. They assert that TPS andcontinued diversion oftheirancestral waterways out Ngati Rangihasconsistently objected to thedevelopment of the 3.1.3 NGATI RANGI Discharge to MangaioStream MWRC101277(2) There were nosignificant events duringthe reporting period. ensure that contaminated water isnotdiverted bytheTPS. Wahianoa Aqueductto alert GenesisEnergy ofvolcanic events to Water Quality historical records. Ngati RangiGeographic Information System (GIS)andcompared to distribution. Tuna andkoura locations have beenmappedonanew been undertaken includingeel(tuna)andfreshwater crayfish (koura) During thereporting period,arange offisheriesinvestigations have includes jointresearch ontheWahianoa waterways. 2010 over theimpactsofTPSontheirrohe (seeSection3.1.3) Aquatic Ecosystems 3.1.2 AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS ANDWATER QUALITY Wahianoa AqueductTake MWRC101278(3) routine test takes upto 10minutes. system wascarried outto ensure thatthesystem wasrobust. A Throughout theyear, routine testing oftheautomated tripping reaches 851.6maslandiscontinuing to rise. the Wahianoa Aqueductto befully closed whenLake Moawhango period was849.1mabove sealevel (masl).Theconsent requires maintenance activity. The maximum lake level during the reporting levels. Notification was carried outas required for eachplanned maintenance activities,butnotfor volcanic activityorhighlake the Wahianoa Aqueductwasturnedoutseveral timesfor planned volcanic activityormaintenance work. Duringthereporting period, 3 /s basedondesigncriteria. There have beennomodifications to 3 /s whichisnearthelong term mean.Flows inthese Water qualitymonitoring isundertaken onthe The Wahianoa Aqueducthasautomatic gates at Resource consents for theWahianoa Aqueduct The agreement reached withNgatiRangiin

07 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 08 TONGARIRO // 15 outcomes sought. is alsounderdevelopment to assess iftheflow achieves the (Figure 2). Aspartoftheagreed flow, amonitoring programme is currently beingdesignedready for installation later in2015 been negotiated. Aflow delivery mechanism to provide thisflow the governance group. Asaresult, anagreed flow of100l/shas basis ofaRelationshipGroup recommendation inAugust 2014to report (CawthornandTipa&Associates, 2014)whichformed the group ofindependentexperts. Theirfindings were reported ina potential agreed flow were undertaken in February 2014bya appropriate flow regime for the stream. Investigations ofa agreed to move directly to ‘agreed flow’ research to assess an was identifiedashavinga complex hydrogeology. Bothparties During connective flow testing in2012/13,the Tokiahuru Stream flows’ to achieve someorallofthe following outcomes: Agreement istheinvestigation andimplementation of‘agreed Agreed Flows Project Genesis Energy to ensure connective flows meetnegotiated levels. the autumn(low flow period),flow monitoring isundertaken by maintenance staff, reported to NgatiRangimonthly. Annually in are maintained through regular valve checksbyGenesisEnergy and Tomowai Stream (6l/s)between 2011and2013.Theseflows were established ontheMakahikatoa (5l/s),Wahianoa (15l/s) visible flow ‘from themountains to thesea’.Connective flows Wahianoa Aqueductbyensuringthatthere isacontinuous and is to reconnect themauriofthesefour waterways, orawa,onthe of theRelationshipAgreement. Thepurposeofa‘connective flow’ Makahikatoa, Tokiahuru andTomowai) isanimportant component flows’ on four tributaries oftheWhangaehuRiver (the Wahianoa, Connective Flows Project species re-inhabitation suchastuna. (ancestral) waterways. Thisincludescontinuing research ontaonga management intherestoration oftheNgatiRangitupuna align withamore holistic approach to environmental andcultural of blending western science withNgati RangiMatauranga to Agreement. TheRelationshipGroup have identifiedtheimportance to discuss issues andprogress therequirements oftheRelationship Energy representatives, metregularly through thereporting period The RelationshipGroup, comprising NgatiRangiandGenesis bottom oftheOhakuneMountain Road. in theoldDepartmentofConservation (DOC)RangerStation atthe The NgatiRangiTrust, includingtheEnvironmental Unit,isbased capacity to focus onenvironmental outcomes withintheirrohe. the implementation oftheagreement andto provide theiwiwith Ngati Rangihasestablished anEnvironmental Unitresponsible for relationship. knowledge andinformation, andabove all,promotes astrong agreed flows research, amitigationprogramme, thesharingof monitoring ofkey objectives includingconnective flows research, Relationship Group. Thisgroup oversees thedevelopment and adverse effects onNgatiRangithrough theestablishment ofa The agreement setsouttheframework andgoalsto mitigate

Cultural connections. Re-establish key kaispeciesidentifiedbyNgatiRangi;and Increase in-stream habitat; Another key partoftheRelationship Theimplementation of‘connective

the LilaPakinga MemorialScholarships of$1,000perrecipient Lila Pakinga MemorialScholarships 2015/16 reporting period. seasonal flows for the remaining awa,whichare planned for the assessments are likely to beundertaken over afullrange of provide guidance ofseasonalflow rates and variability. Cultural remaining three awa,withflow measuringdevices now inplace to Further agreed flow investigations are beingplanned for the Moawhango DamMWRC101279 (2) level was100% compliant duringthereporting period(seeTable 2). to aminimumoperating level of 835.75maslifrequired. Thelake 837 maslto 852.1masl.The consent allows thelake to belowered Lake Moawhangohasanormaloperating range of15.1mfrom 3.2.1 HYDROLOGY Key outcomes oftheconsultative process for Lake Moawhangoare: access into . uses for military training andexercises. TheNZDFstrictly controls to Lake Moawhangoasitispartofthearea thattheNZDFactively water storage reservoir withintheTPS.There isnopublicaccess Lake Moawhangoisanartificialhydro lake andistheonly large 3.2 LAKEMOAWHANGO Mangaio Power Station. There are nospecific resource consents or conditions for the was commissioned on21December 2008. and headto generate 1.8MWofelectricity. MangaioPower Station of theWahianoa Aqueduct.Thestation utilisestheexisting flow The MangaioPower Station islocated attheLake Moawhangoend 3.1.4 MANGAIO POWER STATION promising students whoshow strong leadership potential. education andthesescholarships are awarded annually to relationship priorto herdeathin2011.Lilahadapassion for as aNgatiRangiTrustee, to theNgatiRangi/GenesisEnergy significant contribution Lila Pakinga made, in her capacity and RawiniaThomas.Thesescholarships commemorate the were awarded to RuapehuCollege student’s Courtenay McDonnell

FIGURE 2// agreed flow delivery mechanism. Energy meetwithDeanHassall (Aecom engineer)to progress the an agreement withtheNZDF. lake shoreline erosion monitoring; and provision ofriver flow information viafree phoneand/or lake level monitoring; Genesis Energy’s website;

Keith Wood ofNgatiRangiandCamSpeedyGenesis

Duringthereporting period,

sedimentation wasbelow water level andcould notbeobserved. the 2014survey, muchoftheshoreline inareas subjectto as thewater level wasapproximately 3.5mhigherthanduring 2014 survey. Sedimentwasvisible low onthebeaches,however indicating where themaximumlake level hadrisento since the directly below thenewly established vegetation atthesesites, the lake. There is evidence thatincreased erosion hasoccurred to become established below themaximumoperating level of been inundated withwater for sometime,allowing thevegetation remaining sites. Thisindicates thattheuppershoreline hadnot however encroached onto theuppershoreline of most ofthe regression of0.5matjust two ofthe12sites. Vegetation has changes to thevegetation linewith thelargest movements being The 2015survey showed thatthere hadbeenonly minor Moawhango DamDischarge MWRC101280(12) Moawhango DamMWRC101279(6) reported byChealConsultants Ltd(2015). on 2April2015(seeFigure 3)andtheresults ofthissurvey The annualphoto-point survey wasrepeated onLake Moawhango resource consent requirements following re-consenting in2004. occurring at Lake Moawhango.Thismonitoring became partof photo-point monitoring to identifyanyshoreline changes repeat shore profile surveys (five yearly from 2002)withannual Genesis Energy putinplace amonitoring programme involving identified and,where appropriate, remedial works undertaken. monitoring iscarried outsothatanysignificant erosion can be around thelake. Through a2002agreement, regular lakeshore unduly affect theirland,andinparticularroad access to and in conjunction withtheNZDFto ensure thatlake erosion doesnot throughout thisoperating range. GenesisEnergy hasbeenworking a lackofprotective vegetation can result inshoreline erosion associated withhigh winds,soft(volcanic) shoreline geology and increasing thenormaloperating range to 15.1m.Wave action In 2002thecrest oftheMoawhangoDamwasraised by1.2m, 3.2.2 SEDIMENT(EROSION,TRANSPORTANDDEPOSITION) Moawhango DamMWRC101279(1) modifications to thedamduring reporting period. consent basedondesigncriteria. There have notbeenany Dam Specifications Parameter Minimum Level FIGURE 3//AnnualPhoto-Point Survey. reporting period. TABLE 2//Lake Moawhango lake level compliance duringthe Damspecifications are definedinthe resource (masl) Value 837 Compliance

100 (%)

(condition) Consent Number MWRC 101279(2)

process, orwhere furthermonitoring wasrequired to fully been achangeto theoperations resulting from theconsultative Generally, additionalmonitoring isundertaken where there has been established orenhanced, ormitigationhasbeenundertaken. made to power schemeoperations, monitoring programmes have operation oftheTPS.Where appropriate, changeshave been have beenundertaken to determine theeffects oftheon-going Significant research and consultation ontheMoawhangoRiver river for recreation. freshwater ecology, aswell asthecommunity’s abilityto usethe were most pronounced duringsummer andincludedeffects on tributary, theAorangi Stream. Theeffects ofthisreduction inflow immediately downstream ofthedamto thefirst significant Prior to 2001there wasvery little flow intheMoawhangoRiver 3.3 MOAWHANGO RIVER Lake MoawhangoErosion Protection Works MWRC104870(4) found inSection7.5. Further information andphotographs aboutthisproject can be will becompleted, inassociation withPhaseTwo, inautumn2016. suspended inJunedueto deteriorating weather conditions and 2015 andwillbeundertaken intwo phases.PhaseOnewas baskets andriprap rock protection. Theproject beganinApril addressed viaengineeringworks involving additionalgabion the 2014survey west oftheMoawhangoDamiscurrently being A key area ofconcern andrelated recommendations noted during access road, awayfrom thelake shore. consultation withtheNZDFto determine anew route for this directly opposite hasincreased. GenesisEnergy iscurrently in undermined andtheriskoferosion oftheNZDFaccess road The bankeast oftheMoawhangoDamhasbeenfurther addition to thenew minimum/flushingflow regime, management planandanamenity area (seeSection3.3.3)in Genesis Energy agreed withthecommunity to develop awillow and willow encroachment. To address theseissues, in2000, had beenreduced over theyears asaresult ofreduced flows Moawhango community. However, theamenityvalue oftheriver The MoawhangoRiver was,andstill is,afocal pointfor the growth makes theriver dangerous inmanyparts. flows are alsoavailable for rafters andkayakers althoughwillow preventing theproblems associated withanoxic sediments.The and detritusfrom theriver, thereby improving water qualityand the effects ofnatural floodsby removing accumulated sediment The objective ofregular flushingflows duringsummeris tomimic and thisisnow aconsent condition. strong supportfrom thelocal community andinterested parties, voluntarily implemented theminimumflow in2001 following character through thelength oftheriver. GenesisEnergy fed watercourse to become established, andto enhance natural aquatic speciesrepresentative ofahealthyhigh-country lake The provision ofminimumflows was to provide habitat to enable external scientificagencies. Institute ofWater andAtmosphericResearch (NIWA) andother extensive research, analysis and recommendations by the National minimum flow andflushing flow regime were developed following duration, duringsummermonths(December to March). The provision offour periodicflushingflows of30m³/s fornine hours minimum flow of0.6m³/sdownstream ofthedamandby watercourse”. Thiswasto beachieved byreleasing acontinuous of thedamrepresentative of a“healthyhigh-country lake-fed by manystakeholders: to make theMoawhangoRiver downstream During theconsultation process acommon objective wasagreed statements ofevidence andmonitoring reports. Power Ltd,2000).Further details can befound insubsequent Development Assessment ofEnvironmental Effects (Genesis monitoring undertaken are describedintheTongariro Power understand effects. Full details oftheconsultation process and

09 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 // 15

TONGARIRO FIGURE 4 // Eastern Diversion monitoring results for the reporting period. Flow measurements are shown as mean flow over the reporting period and % of long term average. EPT measurements are shown as % of invertebrates that are mayfly (E), stonefly (P), and caddisflies (T). Periphyton measurements are shown as average % nuisance Periphyton cover. 10 flows of26m rating for theflow station. The revised rating showed that flushing Environmental Report,thisverification work resulted ina revised be undertaken safely). Asdiscussed inthe2013/14 Annual flow station (usingnew technology thatenabled the work to stage-to-flow relationship oftheMoawhango River at In 2014,GenesisEnergy undertook afield exercise to verify the (MWRC). the community andwithManawatuWanganui RegionalCouncil The flushingflow dates are setin consultation withriver users, in eachofthemonthsDecember, January,February andMarch. Flushing Flows Moawhango DamDischarge MWRC101280(6) minor non-compliance. immediately andnoadverse effects occurred asaresult ofthe resulted inamomentary non-compliance. Thevalve wasreset was dueto thecontrolling valve beingsetslightly too low which for one5minute periodon26July to aflow of0.599m During thereporting periodtheflow dropped under0.6m current reporting period). flows andspillflows (see Table 3 for compliance resultsinthe Waiouru flow monitoring site ismaintained to monitor flushing 0.6 m 14 June2011andhasbeenusedto discharge andmonitor the minimum flow compliance. TheMagflow was commissioned on accuracy thananin-river flow site andprovides agreater level of as itdischarges from thedam.TheMagflow hasamuchhigher Moawhango Dam.Thisallows theflow to bemonitored in real time on thecompensation valve thatreleases theminimumflow from reporting periodamagneticflow meter (Magflow) wasinstalled Minimum Flow –MoawhangoDamMagflow average rainfall duringtheyear withnosignificant flood events. long-term meanduringthisreporting period.Thisisdueto below at Moawhangosite wasbelow average (85%)compared to the limits hadalways beeninplace. Flow attheMoawhangoRiver mean iscalculated asiftheoretically thepresent resource consent reporting period,compared to thelong-term mean.Thelong-term River are shown inFigure 4. Italsoshows themeanflow for the The location ofkey flow monitoring sites intheMoawhango 3.3.1 HYDROLOGY River were: Key outcomes oftheconsultative process for theMoawhango Moawhango Dam Location

reporting period. TABLE 3//MoawhangoRiver minimumflow compliance duringthe agreements withNgatiWhitikaupeka,Tamakopiri and development ofanamenityarea atMoawhangoVillage; development ofawillow managementplan; an agreement withWellington RegionFishandGameCouncil flood managementandpublicwarning; to ensure thattheriver downstream oftheMoawhango annual consultative meetings with the Moawhango community. Ngati Hauitito address tangata whenuaissues; and opportunity withintheMoawhangoRiver; to address issues resulting from theloss offishing water course”, specifically through: Dam isrepresentative of“ahealthyhigh-country lake-fed 3 /s minimumflow since thattime.TheMoawhangoRiver at

measuring outcomes through themonitoring ofwater flushing flows and; minimum flows; defined intheEastern Diversion Monitoring Plan. quality, periphyton growth andmacro-invertebrates as 3 /s were beingreleased from thedam,rather The four annualflushingflows occur onsetdates Minimum (m Flows

3

0.6 /s)

Compliance 99.99% (%)

During the2010/11

(condition) MWRC 101280(6,7) Consent Number

3 /s. This

3 /s

the MoawhangoRiver below MoawhangoDam,andhave largely have resulted insignificant improvement to in-stream values in flushing flows, includingthe reduced duration flushing flows, Data from annualecological surveys highlightthefact thatthe shown inTable 4below. requirements for flow andduration. Flushingflow compliance is in February andMarch. Allflows were compliant withthe two reduced duration flushingflows of7and5hours respectively two regular duration flushingflows inDecember andJanuary, Four flushingflows were released duringthe reportingperiod, Section 3.3.2. proposed reduced duration trialsandtheresults are shown in relevant stakeholders were kept informed andnotifiedofthe flushing flows in FebruaryandMarch. The communityand reached withMWRCto enable thetesting ofreduced duration Following consultation withthecommunity, anagreement was Rangitikei River, below theMoawhangoRiver confluence. to reduce theimpactofsedimentdepositiononbanks reducing theduration oftheflushingflows, there isthepotential results. Inaddition,themonitoring results showed thatby longer thanthatrequired to achieve thedesired environmental showed thattheduration oftheflushingflows waspotentially the MoawhangoCommunity. Theresults ofsedimentmonitoring ecological andsedimentmonitoring results were presented to During thereporting period,the2013/14MoawhangoRiver requirements withtherevised rating. granted aconsent variation byMWRCaligningtheflushingflow reporting period.On7November 2014,GenesisEnergy was and discussed withthecommunity, MWRCandiwiduringthe than theconsented 30m 95% oftheyear. compliance occurs whenthe data isnotwithin the±8%range for or minus8%ofthetrueflow for at least 95%ofthetime.Non- the power station generation controllers observe iswithin plus level to flow relationships) are maintained sothattheflow that Resource consents require thatflow rating curves (that is,water ‘true flow’ oftheriver. usually associated withaflood).Thisdata set represents the backdated to thetimewhenrating changeoccurred (i.e. Real-time data is qualityassured andrating changesare as rating changesare identified. compliance data set.Ratingsare updated to thisdata setassoon data set(called theoperational data set),isGenesisEnergy’s collected atmanysites from around thescheme.Thisreal-time Genesis Energy operates theTPSusingreal-time flow data Moawhango DamDischarge MWRC101280(8) during floodsor vegetation growth inandaround thewater way. the shapeofariverbed changesmainly dueto river bedmovement a ‘rating’. Arating isnotpermanent andwillchangeover timeas and converted to flow usinga relationship between thetwo called purposes. Atflow monitoring sites thewater level ismeasured accuracy offlow data collected for operational and compliance Flow Measurement Accuracy Moawhango DamDischarge MWRC101280(3,4,5) stakeholders, includingtheduration offuture flushingflows. results willbediscussed withthecommunity, MWRCandkey met thetarget ecological objectives (seeSection3.3.2).The 10 March 15 17 February 15 27 January15 2 December 14 Date reporting period. TABLE 4//MoawhangoRiver flushingflows duringthe Average 3 /s. Thisinformation waspresented Flow OPERATIONAL (m Genesis Energy monitors the 27.60 27.52 27.19 26.59 3 /s) 5h40min 7h40min 9h30min 9h30min Duration Compliance Full compliance Full compliance Full compliance Full compliance

11 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 12 TONGARIRO // 15 Moawhango DamDischarge MWRC101280(12) flow season,as requested byMWRC. better understanding ofconditions intheriver outsidetheflushing invertebrates andperiphyton were repeated againinMayto gaina Research sectionbelow). Quantitative assessments ofmacro- February andMarch 2015(seeFlushingFlow SedimentDeposition to helpassess anyeffects ofthereduced durationin flushingflows were alsoundertaken pre andpost allflushes this reporting period periphyton build-ups(Chlorophyl aandAshFree DryMatter- AFDM) February andMarch. Quantitative assessments ofnuisance pre andpost eachflushingflow duringDecember, January, Semi-quantitative monitoring ofperiphyton (SHMAK)isundertaken during low inflows inlate summer 2014. for the2014/15reporting period,after theoriginalsite went dry Stream. The MangaioStream site wasshifted furtherdownstream Moawhango: oneontheMoawhangoRiver andoneontheMangaio and two reference sites are located above thedamand Lake dam andWoollaston’s Farm (approximately 43kmdownstream); five sites. Three are located ontheMoawhangoRiver between the and macro-invertebrates. Themonitoring programme comprises The planincludesmonitoring ofwater quality,periphyton growth representative of“ahealthyhighcountry lake-fed water course”. in controlling nuisance periphyton levels andachieving ariver measure outcomes oftheminimumflows andflushing flows The Eastern Diversion Monitoring Planhasbeendeveloped to 3.3.2 AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS ANDWATER QUALITY Moawhango DamDischarge MWRC101280(1) was notoperated. the reporting periodwhichmeantthepublicwarningsystem There were nospillevents from theMoawhangoDamduring Key components ofthesystem include: first flushing flow. The system was developed in consultation with: was madeoperative inDecember 2004,priorto therelease ofthe and plannedflushingflows from MoawhangoDam.Thesystem notification procedure developed for bothunplannedspill events The MoawhangoDamPublicWarning System outlinesthe flow andspill events isapriority for GenesisEnergy. changes inflow downstream. Publicsafety surrounding flushing river users. Flushingflows can alsocreate significant short-term Moawhango River, whichcan create safety issues for downstream does spill,asignificant amountofwater can be released into the lake spillsapproximately once peryear. However, whenthelake floods can be contained withinthe reservoir. Onaverage, the management ofLake Moawhangomeansthatallbutthelargest Public Warning flushing flows occur, limittheopportunities togaugethis station. Health andsafety issues around working atnight,whichiswhen flushing orspill conditions, whichtheMagflow cannotmeasure. to highendofthecurve to cover therange offlows present under events. Assuch,therating curve isonly maintained atthemiddle monitoring site isutilisedprimarily for themonitoring ofhigh-flow at theMoawhangoDam,River atWaiouru flow As theminimumflow isnow monitored bytheMagflow meter

a contacts list ofkey agenciesandproperty owners and; Manawatu Wanganui RegionalCouncil. Council;and Ruapehu District Council; the Moawhangocommunity; property owners andoccupiers adjacent to theMoawhango Whitewater New Zealand; the NZDF; public notification ofplannedspill events (i.e.flushing flows) via: River, from thedamto Moawhangovillage;

letter drops to housesinthevicinityofriver. e-mail notices; and newspaper notices;

The large operating volume andprudent

Valley site bothpre andpost flushfrom December to March but AFDM levels were found to exceed MfEguidelinesattheArgo on allsamplingoccasions. below theHorizonsRegionalCounciltarget value atallothersites both samplingoccasions inMarch. Chlorophyll avalues remained the more rigorous OnePlan50mg/m²chlorophyll atarget on Waiouru site (156.65mg/m Proposed OnePlantarget pre-flushing flow inMarch atthe were allbelow theMfEguideline,butexceeded theMWRC Quantitative periphyton results showed thatchlorophyll avalues periods of20and21daysrespectively). compared withtheFebruary andMarch flushingflows (accrual period before theJanuaryflushingflow (approximately 56days) at Woollastons. Thiswasdueto acomparatively long accrual habitat atArgo Valley, and14%long filamentsintherunhabitat levels peaked inJanuarypre flushat33%thickmatsintherun exceedance ofMfEguidelinesfor nuisance periphyton. Periphyton than periphyton levels encountered inprevious years, withno levels intheMoawhangoRiver for 2014/15were slightly lower Periphyton (Algae) such astrout, native fishandinvertebrates. remain well withintherange oftolerance for sensitive species sites. Thismonitoring continues to show thatallparameters 2014 to April2015periodbyTonkin andTaylor atallmonitoring (dissolved nutrients)were recorded throughout theDecember Water Quality Moawhango River for thereporting period(Tonkin andTaylor, 2015). and Taylor details thein-stream ecology monitoring results from the period are summarisedinFigure 4.Thereport prepared byTonkin Monitoring results for theEastern Diversion duringthereporting encountered since monitoring beganin2005. to 2014.However, alltheindex values are still withintherange and EPTtaxa atallsites below thedamin2015whencompared sites (seeFigure 4).There wasadecrease (notsignificant) inMCI downstream oftheMoawhangoDamcompared to thecontrol MCI, QMCIand%EPTindex values tend to belower atallsites Macroinvertebrate data from 2011to 2015have shown that River since 2011. reflecting achangeinenvironmental conditions intheMoawhango March Flushing flow untilat least onemonthlater) rather than change inthetimingofsampling(from immediately after the in sample processing methods(sieve sizes)priorto 2011 and a compared to pre 2011data. Thisismost likely dueto adifference 2015 samples were similar to the 2011 to 2014 data but were lower Total macroinvertebrate densitiesandrichness values for theMay than 5%Oligochaeta (worms), insuchasystem. hawthorn fly),greater than10%Ephemeroptera (mayflies),or less following: greater than15%Diptera (midge,crane flyand commonly usedto test water quality),and oneormore ofthe Plecoptera, andTrichoptera [EPT],thethree insectorders stoneflies and caddisflies (otherwiseknown asEphemeroptera, less than15%Coleoptera (beetles) andgreater than50%mayflies, River below theMoawhangoDam.There shouldbeamixture of high-country lake-fed water course” similarto theMoawhango invertebrate fauna thatwould berepresentative of“ahealthy, Macro-invertebrates with MWRC. to review therelevance ofAFDMasasuitable flushingflow metric, medium matspost flushingflow events. GenesisEnergy intends ecological monitoring in2006,dueto theprevalence ofthickand continual exceedance inAFDMlevels since thecommencement of post flushing events. However, Waiouru andArgo Valley have a Results indicate ageneral reduction inchlorophyll aandAFDM sampling occasions inMarch. post flushin February, andattheMangaio control site onboth MfE guidelinesattheWaiouru site pre flushDecember to March, were below theMfEguidelinesinMay. AFDMlevels alsoexceeded Temperature, dissolved oxygen, pHandconductivity Semi-quantitative periphyton coverage Suren etal(2002)identifiedthemacro- 2 ). TheMangaiocontrol site exceeded TABLE 5 // Reference criteria developed by Suren et al. (2002) for the expected macro-invertebrate composition in a healthy high country lake-fed river (similar to below Moawhango Dam), with results from the 2014/15 monitoring sites above (reference sites), and below Moawhango Dam.

Criteria for healthy high country lake- Compliance at Site (Yes = lake-fed criteria met; No = lake-fed criteria not met) fed river invertebrate community Both: Site 1a Site 1b Site 2 Site 3 Site 4 Upstream of Dam Mangaio Stream Waiouru Argo Valley Woollastons (Reference 1) (Reference 2) 50% EPT; and YES (66.25%) YES (65.25%) NO (44.22%) NO (42.13%) YES (53.62%) 15% Coleoptera YES ( 2.20%) YES (6.00%) YES (2.82%) YES (0.00%) YES (4.58%) And either of: 15% Diptera; or YES (17.03%) YES (23.04%) YES (30.39%) YES (44.28%) YES (22.74%) 10% Ephemeroptera (E); or YES (16.48%) YES (22.16%) YES (11.48%) NO (6.12%) YES (14.69%) 5% Oligochaeta YES (3.86%) YES (0.61%) YES (4.19%) NO (11.01%) NO (10.01%) Criteria Met Not Lake Fed Not Lake Fed NO NO YES

The above Moawhango Dam control site had a significantly higher The percentage of organic material deposited on the bank mean MCI score compared to the Argo Valley site downstream was greatest during the first monitored flush of 2015 of the dam. The new Mangaio control site also had significantly (January). This was likely a function of summer conditions higher MCI scores than all monitoring sites below the dam. The being conducive to the growth of algae [see “Periphyton Above Moawhango Dam control site had a significantly higher (Algae)” Section above]; QMCI score compared to all sites downstream of the dam. The The percentage of organic material for the two February and Woollaston site was also found to have a significantly higher QMCI March flushes was almost identical to the January flush. This score than the Argo Valley site suggesting an improvement in would suggest that the duration of the flushing event has little habitat quality further downstream of the dam. effect on the entrainment of organic material, although it does reduce the amount of material deposited on the The same trend as QMCI scores was observed in the comparative Rangitikei River bank; Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) analysis which showed that the The amount of material deposited on the river bank during Waiouru and Woollaston sites were “slightly-impaired”, whereas, each flushing flow is therefore at least partly a function of the the Argo valley site was “moderately impaired” compared to the duration of inundation; above Moawhango Dam control site. The effect of the shorter duration flush in reducing the material deposited was greatest towards the upper limit Macroinvertebrate community metrics met the Suren (Suren et al reached by water during the flush i.e. less material was 2002) reference criteria for healthy high-country lake-fed streams deposited further up the bank; and at the Woollaston site only during the reporting period (see Table In summary, the reduced duration flushing flows still 5). The Waiouru site and the Argo valley site did not meet the removed the same amount of material from the Moawhango Suren criteria due to the percentage of EPT taxa being less than River, and deposited less of that material on the upper banks the 50 % criteria threshold. of the Rangitikei River. Flushing Flow Sediment Deposition Research The Moawhango flushing flows are designed to dislodge algal growth from the substrate and entrain fine-grained sediment which is then flushed from the river. Consequently, these flushing flows contain both organic and inorganic material which is transported down the Moawhango River and the Rangitikei River below the confluence. Depending on conditions in the Moawhango and Rangitikei rivers during the flushes, the dislodged material can be deposited along broad, shallow unconfined reaches in the Rangitikei River. The effect of this material on the river’s recreational and ecological values has been investigated previously (Opus, 2009). // 15

The seasonal composition of sediment entrained in the Moawhango flushing flows was investigated and reported by Opus International Consultants Ltd during the 2014 flushing flow season (Opus, 2014). One of the key findings was that the duration of the flushing flows (nine hours) was greater than required to exhaust the readily available fine sediment and organic material in the Moawhango River and that it is likely that the same environmental benefit could be achieved by lesser flows of shorter duration.

As discussed above, during the 2015 flushing flow season, agreement was obtained from MWRC, with the support of the community and key stakeholders, to test and monitor shorter flushing flows to see if these:

could reduce the amount of material deposited on the banks of the Rangitikei River as a result of flushes; but also continue to provide for effective flushing of the Moawhango River. ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT ENVIRONMENTAL Opus monitored a seven hour flush in February, a five hour flush in March, and compared these with a standard nine hour flush in FIGURE 5 // Sediment deposition on geotech fabric placed on the

December 2014 and January 2015 (see Figure 5). The results of banks of the Rangitikei River to record sediment deposition during 13 the investigation are reported by Opus International Consultants the February and March flushes (Photo: Opus). Ltd (Opus, 2015). Key findings were: 14 TONGARIRO // 15 as reported byMWRC(Cummings,2015): During thereporting period,thefollowing works were completed, years. Theprioritiesidentifiedinthe2014 review are as follows. (Cumming, 2014),key workstreams were prioritisedfor thenext few Following the2014review ofthewillow managementprogramme Moawhango River above thePungatawa Bridge. elimination ofmature willows from themainstem ofthe control, theoverall programme hasresulted inthevirtual Together withMWRCandcommunity contributions to willow almost 14kmofriver treated andmaintained inthattime. progress over thepast eightyears ofactive management,with community andtangata whenuain2005,hasresulted insignificant The MoawhangoWillow ManagementPlan,approved bythe Moawhango DamMWRC101279(3,4) previously cleared reaches. of a200mreach oftheriver peryear andfor maintaining the out anannualprogramme for controlling willows over aminimum Willow ManagementPlanwasdeveloped in2005.Thisplansets As partofabroad TPSmitigationprogramme, aMoawhango oxygen levels andgivingoffunpleasant odours asthey rot. in backwaters andatthebottom ofdeep,slow pools,lowering deteriorates whenlarge volumes ofwillow leaves accumulate flows andcreate seriouswater qualityissues. Thewater quality blockages in the river which reduce the cleansing effect of flushing Willow encroachment hasfurtherrestricted water flows, causing have exacerbated theencroachment ofwillows into theriver. or ongoingoperation oftheTPS.However, flow reductions may willows to theMoawhangoRiver isunrelated to thedevelopment Moawhango Willow ManagementPlan 3.3.3 NATURAL CHARACTER ANDAMENITYISSUES River, while limitingtheimpactsonRangitikei River. or how, flushingflows canmaintain thebenefits fortheMoawhango the community to determine theneedfor furtherinvestigation andif, Genesis Energy willdiscuss theresults ofthestudy withMWRCand

Chemical control of8.36kmseedlingwillow. Mechanical clearing of2.41km ofwillow debris;and Burning oflogs thatwere removed from theriver in2014, Priority 5: Priority 4: Priority 3: Priority 2: Priority 1: below JasmineFalls;

Spray orbasal-barklive willow inareas already Cut, recover andburndebrisfrom 2009-2010treatment Remove blockages andburnwillow debrisheaps. No recovery work required butthere are blockages or Recovery work anticipated for debriscreated bythe Spray orbasal-barklive willows identified for abseiling Cut andrecover edgevegetation only from 2006-2008 Cut andrecover edgevegetation only from 2009-2011 zones where diggercan access andwork onthelower bank. Priority 1category. debris thatneedto bemanagedaspartofthe killing ofwillows below Mahe’s Drop. and allothers below Mahe’s Drop. where willow populationissparse. treatment zonesorfrom 2009-2010treatment zones to arecovery point. material can beprocessed onsite orfloated treatment zoneswhere there isnodiggeraccess but require abseiling access. identified above theMoawhangoGorge, except ifthey

Theintroduction of

reduction inlog jamsandlowers theriskoffuture jams. river system naturally anddecomposed. Thishasresulted ina have eitherbeenremoved manually, orhave moved through the willow debrisfrom the2009-2013treatment works appears to See Figures 6and7for photos oftheworks. Themajorityof electrical refit andother works have been completed. Hall Committee duringthe2013/14reporting period, andafull and plumbing.GenesisEnergy passed over thefundingto the and polyurethane coating ofthehallfloor;interior painting; hall upgrade, including:electrical wiring andlighting;sanding amenity area fundingwould gotowards aMoawhangocommunity October 2012itwasunanimously decidedthattheremaining At theMoawhangocommunity consultative meetingheldin allowing agreater willow control effort duringthatperiod. the amenityarea were redirected to thispurposeduring2010/11, willow managementplan.Assuch,partofthefundssetasidefor set asidefor theamenityarea to progress thecatchment wide community andtangata whenua,redirected halfofthefunding this, GenesisEnergy, withtheagreement ofthelocal Moawhango would seriously restrict theoriginaldevelopment plans.Following registered archaeological site intheproposed development area These planswere setasidein2008following therealisation thata Moawhango DamMWRC101279(Advice Note) adjacent to MoawhangoRiver, nearMoawhangovillage. Moawhango community developed aplanfor anamenityarea Moawhango AmenityArea FIGURE 6&7// Ford onthe MoawhangoRiver.

Before andafter willow control works atDuncan’s In2004,GenesisEnergy andthe

3.3.4 RECREATION/TOURISM The Moawhango River sites were drift dived again on 30 January, 3 days after the 27 January Moawhango Dam flushing flow, using The reduction in flow downstream of the Moawhango Dam resulted the same dive team members. Visibility at the sites above and in less rainbow trout habitat in the Moawhango River, reducing below the Moawhango village bridge was much better at 4.8 m, angling opportunity and possibly creating additional pressure and a greater number of trout were observed. However, visibility on other nearby rivers, in particular the Rangitikei River. As it at the confluence site was worse at 3.2 m, and accordingly fewer was not considered realistic to attempt to re-create the rainbow fish were seen. trout fishery in the Moawhango River, Genesis Energy reached an agreement with the Wellington Region Fish and Game Council to Two sections on the Rangitikei River at Springvale were dived undertake off-site mitigation, in addition to the minimum/flushing on 31 March 2015 - a 2.3 km section above the bridge and a 1.6 flow regime. A key part of this is the enhancement of the rainbow km section below the bridge. Visibility was good at 7.0 m. A 1.2 trout fishery in the upper Rangitikei River. km section below the Mangaohane Bridge was also dived on 31 March. Visibility was good at 7.1 m, much better than the 3.2 The long-term focus of the trout management work on the m experienced the previous year. The results of the drift dive Rangitikei River is to undertake: surveys are comparable with previous years, and are considered conservative due to difficulty viewing the bottom in some of the trout abundance, spawning and recruitment monitoring; deeper pools. regulation compliance; habitat protection for trout; and Back Country License There are three regions within New research to: Zealand that operate back country fishing licences – Otago, Southland, and Wellington. The Wellington Region back-country identify links between trout recruitment in the Rangitikei license covers both the upper Rangitikei and the Whakaurekou lower reaches and the headwaters; Rivers. For the 2014/15 fishing season, a total of 304 licenses gain reliable estimates of backcountry angler use; and were issued, although 119 of these licensees also ticked the two survey for pest plants such as Didymo. remaining regions on the license form, in addition to Wellington. Key initiatives and results were reported by the Wellington Region Consequently, there could be more than the 185 individuals who Fish and Game Council (Pilkington, 2015) for the reporting period. just ticked the Wellington region who ventured into the back These are outlined below. country this last fishing season. This is up from the 144 last fishing season. Monitoring In 2015, a Fish and Game drift diving programme was carried out to index trout populations. The programme included 3.3.5 NGATI WHITIKAUPEKA, NGATI TAMAKOPIRI three sections of the Moawhango River and three sections of the AND NGATI HAUITI mainstem on the Rangitikei River. The results are summarised in Ngati Whitikaupeka, Ngati Tamakopiri and Ngati Hauiti have Table 6. consistently stated that the damming of the Moawhango River, Sections of the Moawhango River have been dived since 2013, the reduction of flow downstream of the dam and the unnatural starting 1.5 km above the Moawhango Village bridge, and extending diversion of water from the Moawhango catchment into the 1.1 km downstream of the bridge. This year the above-bridge Waikato catchment has ongoing physical and spiritual impacts section was dived on 26 January, the day before a flushing flow on the environment. Genesis Energy has entered into long-term from the Moawhango Dam was released. Unfortunately visibility relationships with Ngati Hauiti, Ngati Whitikaupeka and Ngati was very low at 2.8 m due to fine sediment entrained in the flow, Tamakopiri in regard to these matters. and consequently the below-bridge section dive was abandoned. Ngati Whitikaupeka and Ngati Tamakopiri Genesis Energy met Following a request at the Moawhango community meeting in with representatives of Ngati Whitikaupeka and Ngati Tamakopiri September 2014, a new 700 m drift dive section of the Moawhango in June 2015, and both parties remained in regular contact River above the confluence of the Rangitikei River was also dived. throughout the reporting period. This section was dived on 26 January, with visibility of 4.0 m. Of During the reporting period, both Runanga continued to be actively note on this dive was a large accumulation of silt on the riverbed involved in the following: towards the lower end of the section. This observation was passed onto Genesis Energy and raised with MWRC. A subsequent Environmental Working Party (EWP) - a partnership between site visit with Council’s freshwater ecologist was undertaken. Ngati Whitikaupeka and Ngati Tamakopiri aimed at The sediment observed was confirmed as occurring at other addressing environmental impacts on their shared lands. confluence sites within the Rangitikei catchment and no further The EWP continues to support another iwi within the action or investigation was considered necessary. // 15

TABLE 6 // Wellington Fish & Game Council Drift Dive Survey Results for the Upper Rangitikei and Moawhango Rivers - 2015.

Date River Section Distance (m) Visbility (m) Fish Seen Fish/Km Large Medium Large Medium Brown Brown Rainbow Rainbow 26-Jan-15 Moawhango Village Bridge (above) 1500 2.8 8 6 6 5 17 26-Jan-15 Moawhango Confluence 700 4 9 22 1 3 50 30-Jan-15 Moawhango Village Bridge (above) 1500 4.8 39 17 28 21 70 30-Jan-15 Moawhango Village Bridge (below) 1100 4.8 22 11 13 8 49 30-Jan-15 Moawhango Confluence 700 3.2 4 3 8 2 24 31-Mar-15 Rangitikei Springvale 2300 7 36 17 32 32 51 (above Bridge) ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT ENVIRONMENTAL 31-Mar-15 Rangitikei Springvale 1600 7 13 14 23 35 53 (below Bridge)

31-Mar-15 Rangitikei Mangaohane 1200 7.1 5 12 14 35 55 15 16 TONGARIRO // 15 in June2015,andreceived anupdate onthefollowing key projects Ngati Hauiti

FIGURE 8//NgatiHauitiRangatahi NohoatPoutu Dam. Project Pourewa (Pourewa Stream restoration works). He WhetuArataki (NgatiHauitiLeadership Programme). During thereporting periodthetrust implemented ayouth Moawhango Rahi-Iwiare looking atsupportingjointventures Mokai Patea Waitangi ClaimsTrust -involvement intheiwi Planning andsupportingtheirmarae withdevelopment and the planted andfenced sections. with only scheduled weed clearance andspraying to manage fenced. Duringthereporting periodthere waslimited activity 200 msectionofthestream and2kmofthestream hasbeen from GenesisEnergy. Willows have been removed from a annual programme stream restoration works, usingfunding runs through Rata andHunterville. NgatiHauiti undertake an Pourewa stream isatributary oftheRangitikei River that Dam (Figure 8). the MoawhangoDam,andRangipoOutfall andthePoutu which includedasite visitwithGenesisEnergy staff to One ofthesenohoincludedanovernight stay inTokaanu 4. Kotahitanga (Unity). 3. Manaakitanga (Support);and 2. Rangatiratanga (Leadership); 1. Hauititanga (NgatiHauiticulture); learnt withspecific focus on four key areas: which manyactivitiesare undertaken andnew skillsare Hauiti. Four noho(gatherings)are heldthrough theyear at aims to provide for a succession ofleadership withinNgati with four others intheseedlingphase.Thisprogramme There are currently nineRangatahi active intheprogramme Research Services Whanganuiwhichisaffiliated to NgatiHauiti. time learning theXero accounting programme atWhakauae able to undertake training andwork experience including Arataki development course. Two NgatiHauiti youths were business programme whichisanextension oftheHeWhetu vicinity ofthevillage; programme for theMoawhangoRiver intheimmediate There isongoingsupporttowards thewillow management that enhance thehealth,wellbeing andmaurioftheAwa. the rohe; collective dealingwiththeWaitangi Tribunal Claimswithin renovation projects over thenext three years; Environmental Policy statement; the reporting period,theEWPalsolooked atupdatingtheir the healthandwellbeing oftheRangitikei Awa.During capacity andcapability withinthismajorarea ofiwiinterest, participated inthe“NgaPae oRangitikei” forum, to support rohe withtheirenvironmental matters. EWPrepresentatives GenesisEnergy metwithrepresentatives ofNgatiHauiti

:

sediment depositiononthebanksofRangitikei River. There the sameenvironmental outcomes, while reducing theimpactof potential to reduce theduration oftheflushingflows toachieve flows waspresented atthemeeting,andinparticular The results ofsedimenttransport monitoring duringflushing flushing flow requirement withthe revised rating. its intention to seekavariation to theresource consent to alignthe has improved markedly. GenesisEnergy advisedthecommunity of minimum flow andwillow control works, theMoawhangoRiver was achieving thedesired outcome, andincombination withthe this rating change,allpartiesagreed thattheflushingflow regime rather thantheconsented 30m the flushingflows being released from thedam were 26m for theMoawhangoatWaiouru flow station, whichshowed that A key topic ofdiscussion atthemeetingwasrating change monitoring, andthewillow control programme. An update wasalsoprovided ontheresults ofannualecological presented byFishandGamediscussed atthemeeting. A summaryandtheresults of2014driftdive surveys was Council andMWRC. Community,FishandGame,Iwi,Rangitikei District including: Rangitikei Community,Moawhango was well attended with25people from arange ofbackgrounds September 2014attheMoawhangoCommunityHall.Themeeting The annualMoawhangocommunity meetingwasheldon4 are well attended andexcellent feedback isalways received. willow managementanduseoftheamenityarea funding.Meetings community to discuss flushingflow events, monitoring results, Genesis Energy holdsannualmeetingswiththeMoawhango 3.3.6 MOAWHANGO COMMUNITY Moawhango DamMWRC101280(9,10) Moawhango community meeting. duration flushingflows, and present the resultsatthe2015 with MWRCandthecommunity to progress atrialofreduced flushing flow duration. GenesisEnergy advisedthatit would work to reduce theimpactonRangitikei River from areduction in effectiveness oftheflushingflows andinvestigating theoptions was general supportamongst thecommunity for assessing the 3 /s (seeSection3.3.1).Despite

3 /s

TONGARIRO RIVER

04 17 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 18 TONGARIRO // 15 discussed elsewhere inthisreport (seeSection4.4). Rangipo Damand Poutu Intake as well asvarious widerinitiatives Genesis Energy agreed to provide recreational releases from the recreational opportunitieswithintheTongariro River. Assuch, Outdoors raised concerns thatreduced flows were limiting As partoftheconsultation process, Whitewater NZandHillary angling opportunities(seeSection 4.2). research programmes to beundertaken andtheenhancement of exceeded. Theagreement alsoprovides for fisheryscience and from Poutu Intake, shouldspecifiedperiphyton trigger levels be an agreement wasreached thatprovides for flushingflows subsequent survival rate ofjuvenile trout. To address this concern invertebrates present, whichcould affect thegrowth rates and build-ups, thereby changingthetypeandabundance ofmacro- Intake may promote orenhance thegrowth ofnuisance periphyton DOC were concerned thatstable flows downstream of Poutu for thecontinued operation oftheTPS. trout fishery as well as recreational opportunities,while allowing downstream ofPoutu Intake. Thisprovides for thedownstream same resource. Acontinuous minimumflow of16m³/sis released In thelower river there are manycompeting demandsfor the habitat (seeSection7.2). aims to enhance, protect andpromote whiopopulationsandtheir Conservation Charitable Trust wasformed in2002.Thetrust populations. Asaresult, theCentral NorthIslandBlueDuck programme, to develop ascheme-wideinitiative to enhance whio Bird Protection Societyagreed, aspartof a widermitigation Department ofConservation (DOC)andtheRoyal Forest and devastate whioandtheirhabitat. Rather,GenesisEnergy, the River issusceptible to volcanic events suchas lahars whichcan minimum flow for thebenefitofwhio,specifically asthe Tongariro it wasnotconsidered practicable to furtherincrease the0.6m³/s An agreement wasreached duringtheconsultative process that flushing flows are released to remove the periphyton growth. are monitored andtriggerlevels are set.Ifatriggerlevel isreached, that thisdoesnotoccur ontheTongariro River, periphyton levels degraded habitat orfood sources for freshwater species.To ensure character. Nuisance periphyton (algae)proliferations can result in of RangipoDamto provide aquatichabitat andto enhance natural A continuous minimumflow of0.6m³/sis released downstream monitoring reports. details can befound insubsequentstatements ofevidence and of Environmental Effects (GenesisPower Ltd,2000).Further described intheTongariro Power Development Assessment to thelodgement ofresource consent applications in2000are consultation process andmonitoring undertaken inthelead up fully understand effects over thelong term. Full details ofthe consultative process, orwhere furthermonitoring isrequired to there hasbeenachangeto theoperations resulting from the undertaken. Generally, additionalmonitoring isundertaken where have beenestablished orenhanced, ormitigationhasbeen been madeto power schemeoperations, monitoring programmes ongoing operation oftheTPS.Where appropriate, changeshave undertaken ontheTongariro River to determine theeffects ofthe A significant amountof research and consultation hasbeen river downstream ofPoutu Intake. downstream ofRangipoDamandto alesser degree thelower results inreduced flows intheupper Tongariro River immediately The continued operation oftheTongariro Power Scheme(TPS) Lake Taupo, where thehighest value trout fisheryoccurs. development. Itisinthelower river, downstream ofPoutu Intake to through amodifiedlandscape of exotic forest, pasture andurban river ispartially contained withinbothparksandalsoflows including thenationally endangered blueduck(whio).Thelower values andprovide habitat for awiderange ofnative species, Tongariro NationalPark, bothofwhichhave particularecological are largely contained withintheKaimanawaForest Park andthe a resource for hydroelectricity generation. Theuppercatchments resource, itsworld-famous trout fishery,by tangata whenuaandas The Tongariro River ishighly valued for itsecology, asarecreational 04 TONGARIRO RIVER

River were: Key outcomes oftheconsultative process for theTongariro River Delta. flushing ofRangipoDamandsedimentation ofthe Tongariro through theconsultation process were floodmanagement,the Other key issues identified for the Tongariro River andaddressed to theprimaryandback-uppower supplieson3March 2015. At downstream Rangipoanon-compliance wascaused byafault complaints resulting from theminornon-compliances. at allsites withinthiscatchment andnoobserved effects orpublic During thereporting periodthere wasavery highlevel ofcompliance within theTongariro catchment (Table 7). minimum flows to be released from GenesisEnergy’s structures Minimum Flows there are more frequent spillevents duringtheyear. requirement atPoutu Intake andthemeanflow only increases if 9) .Thissite displays effects from theminimumflow consent Poutu Intake were 101%ofthelong term mean(seeFigure Annual flow records show thatflows released downstream of the upperTongariro River. inflow characteristics ofthesurrounding natural flow stations in below thelong term average at81%whichbroadly mimicsthe generation through RangipoPower Station. Thiswasalsowell into theupperTongariro River viatheMoawhangoTunnel for this reporting period.Onaverage, 7.8m³/sofwater wasdiverted flow islargely a controlled release withlimited spill events during directly downstream ofRangipoDamwere below average, this below average duringthereporting period(Figure 9).Flows Flows intheupperTongariro River (above RangipoDam)were 4.1 HYDROLOGY

no diversion ofcontaminated water bodies,withparticular increase recreational rafting/kayaking opportunitythrough: improve thesedimentflushing regime oftheRangipoDam; maintain healthyecosystems downstream ofthestructures an agreement withWaikato RegionalCouncil’s (WRC) an agreement withDOCandtheRoyal Forest andBird an agreement withDOCthekey purposeofenhancing provision ofriver flow information viafree phoneand/or emphasis on: achieved by: funding contributions to bemadetowards Project Watershed. warning information for theTongariro River andagreed Asset ManagementGroup for GenesisEnergy to provide flood Charitable Trust; and formation oftheCentral NorthIslandBlueDuckConservation Protection Societywhichoutlines therequirement for the Enhancement Fund (TFEF); the Tongariro trout fishery,viaa Tongariro Fisheries Genesis Energy’s website;

real-time monitoring ofwater quality. the Volcanic ActivityManagement Plan(VAMP); and removal ofconstruction debrisasdefinedinthe a third partyagreement withLake Rotoaira Forest Trust recreational releases; third partyagreements withWhitewater NZand outcomes measured through themonitoring ofwhio flushing flows (trigger-based);and minimum flows; Construction DebrisManagementPlan(CDMP). Kaimanawa Roadto Poutu Intake; and to provide unrestricted recreational access via Hillary Outdoors; Monitoring Plan(TRMP). macro-invertebrates asdefinedinthe Tongariro River populations, water quality,periphyton growth and There are three consents that require continuous

measurements are shown asaverage %nuisance Periphyton cover. and %oflong term average EPTmeasurements are shown as%ofinvertebrates thatare mayfly(E),stonefly (P),andcaddisflies (T).Periphyton FI GURE 9//

Tongariro River monitoring results for thereporting period.Flow measurements are shown asmeanflow over thereporting period

19 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 20 TONGARIRO // 15 phone calls, newspapers andradio advertisements. Notification isviaGenesisEnergy’s hydrology web page,e-mail, flows, Tongariro River users are notified via several mechanisms. Where there are plannedmaintenance activitiesthatwillalter the to ensure thatthey are operative and perform to therequired level. flow changesatthese structures. The alarmsare tested regularly Poutu Intake andPoutu Damto warn downstream river users of Public Warning Wairehu CanalDischarge WRC103882(1) Moawhango Tunnel Discharge WRC103863(2) of WRC)clearly likely to exceed, themaximumcontrol level. Tunnel andWairehu Canalif Lake Taupo exceeds, oris(intheview require GenesisEnergy to cease discharge from Moawhango its maximumcontrol level of357.25masl.Thiscondition would There were noevents thatresulted in Lake Taupo risingabove On alloccasions bothTDCandWRCwere2015. notifiedvia telephone. these highflow events were 3August 2014,27April2015and20June respective councils were notifiedofhighflow events. Thedates for During thereporting period,there were three instances where the is downstream ofPoutu Intake exceeds 250m Flood Management Poutu Canalto Poutu Stream WRC103877(1) Poutu CanalDischarge WRC103878(1) Poutu Intake Take WRC103875(15) Waihohonu Discharge WRC103866(1) Waihohonu DamandTake WRC103864(1,2) Rangipo Power Station Discharge WRC103870 (1) Rangipo Power Station Take WRC103867(3) Moawhango Tunnel Discharge WRC103863(1) reporting period. was therefore fully compliant withtheseconditions duringthe since thedate ofcommencement oftheconsent. GenesisEnergy Dam Spillway Crest, whichhasbeenmaintained at818.4m Specifically, thisalsoincludesnoalterations to theRangipo No modifications have beenmade to anyofthese structures. specified in resource consents, basedondesigncriteria. Maximum Flows complaints were received. resulted from theseminornon-compliance events andnopublic duration offive minutes oneachoccasion. Noadverse effects correspond to afew millimeters ofriver level over amaximum canoe release. Thesefour minornon-compliances inflow this occurred after reinstating thePoutu Canalafter arecreational 15.915 m minutes over thereporting period.Themeannon-compliance was is required, there were four non-compliances thattotalled 20 At downstream Poutu Intake, where a16m adverse effects asaresult ofthisminornon-compliance. minimum of0.597m This meanttheflow dippedunder0.6m Location Poutu Stream atFord 1 January–31January 1 November –31December 1 February–31 October Downstream Poutu Intake Tongariro River at Downstream Rangipo Tongariro River at required to notifystaff atWRCandTaupo District Council (TDC). reporting period. TABLE 7//Tongariro River minimumflow compliance for the 3 /s. Theminimumflow observed was15.884m GenesisEnergy maintains audible alarmsat Several structures have maximumflow limits

Once theflow onthe Tongariro River 3 /s recorded duringthistime.There were no Minimum Minimum (m (m Flows Flows 0.45 3 3 0.3 0.6 0.6 /s) /s) 16

Compliance Compliance 3

/s for 15minutes with a 3 3 /s minimumflow /s, GenesisEnergy

99.96 99.99 100 100 100 (%) (%)

(condition) Number Consent (condition) Number Consent EW 103867(4) EW 103879(2) EW 103879(2) EW 103879(2) 3 EW 103875 /s and

(1, 3) river dropped to aminimumof5.73duringthisperiod. the pHhadlifted above 6.0asseeninFigure 10.ThepHofthe before thepHdropped below thelimitandwasopenedagainafter 2015 duringahighinflow event. The Poutu Intake wasclosed well pH dropped below thisconsented limit,thishappenedon20June During thereporting period,there wasoneoccasion where the Rotoaira whenpHfalls below six. taken from theTongariro River viathePoutu Intake andinto Lake the pHatPoutu CanalDiversion, to ensure that water isnot pH Monitoring Poutu DamDrumGate Testing WRC103881(5) Poutu DamWRC103879(5) Poutu Intake WRC103875(5) activities thataltered theflow inthe Tongariro River. During thereporting periodthere were noplannedmaintenance from key technical experts andthrough theestablishment ofthe Tongariro SectionMonitoring Plan.Thiswork hasinvolved input comprehensive monitoring programme, co-ordinated through the University andotherstakeholders since 2005to develop a Taupo Fisherystaff, DOCthreatened speciesstaff, NIWA, Massey Tongariro River. GenesisEnergy hasworked closely withDOC Good information iscritical to thefuture management ofthe 4.2 AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS ANDWATER QUALITY the trueflow for 97.1%ofthetime. during thereporting period.Theoperational flow wasaccurate to within the±8%for 95%oftheyear. Thesite hadfullcompliance reporting period.Non-compliance occurs whenthedata isnot number ofriver flow gaugingsundertaken atthesite duringthe River atDownstream Poutu Intake monitoring site, aswell asthe Table 8shows compliance withthiscondition ontheTongariro (see Section3.3.1for more detail ontheconsent requirements). Controllers observe iswithin±8%ofthetrueflow for 95%ofthetime maintained sothattheflow thatthepower station Generation flow rating curves (thatis,water level to flow relationships) are Flow Measurement Accuracy Poutu Intake WRC103875(11) Poutu Intake Tongariro River at Location FIGURE 10//Poutu CanalDiversion pHandFlow compliance. reporting period. TABLE 8//Tongariro River andrating curve compliance for the GenesisEnergy maintains asensorthatdetects % time within ± 8% 97.1

Resource consents require that

Compliance compliance Full Number gaugings 11 of

103875 WRC number Consent again inNovember. of EPTtaxa dippedinOctober dueto aflood event butincreased EPT taxa thedominanttaxa typefound atallsites. Thepercentage In April,thepercentage ofEPTtaxa increased once againwith lower periphyton coverage and biomass levels then previous years. over thisperiod(seeFigure 9).Thiscan becontributed to slightly not assevere asprevious years, withallsites above 50%EPTtaxa January andMarch atallsites. However, thisseasonaldrop was data, withareduction inthepercentage ofEPTtaxa between terms ofpercentage ofEPTtaxa thatwassimilarto theprevious the 2014-15reporting periodshowed aclear seasonalpattern in Macro-invertebrates (20.56 mg/m the Puketarata site havingthehighest amountsofchlorophyll a March 2015 showed allsites were below theMfEguidelines,with (14.0%). Quantitative measurements ofchlorophyll aand AFDM in Thick matcoverage washighest inOctober at thePuketarata site in December 2014with14.5%coverage within therunhabitat. Rangipo site compared to theothersampled sites, andpeaked Long filamentous algae coverage wasgenerally highest atthe below MfEguidelinesthroughout themonitoring period. long filamentous algaeandthickmats)atallsites remained well Rangipo Dam(seeFigure 9).Levels ofnuisance periphyton (both the Waipakihi control site waslower thanatthethree sites below biomass andcoverage ofthickmatandlong filamentous algaeat lower to thatencountered inprevious years. In2014/15periphyton Periphyton coverage andbiomass levels were generally slightly Guidelines for theprotection oftrout habitat andangling,whichare: Dam WRC103867(10)]andtheMinistry for theEnvironment (MfE) remove periphyton are definedbybothResource Consent[Rangipo Periphyton Overall, nospecific trends were found over thesamplingyear. found atanyofthemonitored sites duringthereporting period. very little finesedimentofeither category present. Nosilts were Waipakihi, Puketarata andJudge’s Pool sites. TheRangiposite had the Waipakihi site while coverage bygravels washighest atthe year. Sandswere generally found inthehighest proportion at between sites, withinindividualsites andover thesampling on theTongariro River showed variability insedimentcoverage Sediment by Tonkin andTaylor (2015). Puketarata confluence, and Tongariro atJudges Pool are reported River reference site, downstream RangipoDam,Tongariro at four monitoring sites ontheTongariro River includingWaipakihi period for sediment,periphyton andmacro-invertebrates atthe period are summarisedinFigure 9.Resultsfor thereporting Monitoring results for theTongariro Sectionduringthereporting Rangipo DamWRC103867(10) temperatures, low flows andnuisance periphyton build-ups. the river ecology isundermost stress from warmerwater periphyton assessments were alsoundertaken inMarch, when reporting period.Annualquantitative macro-invertebrates and and sedimentcover were undertaken monthly through the Semi-quantitative monitoring ofmacro-invertebrates, periphyton build-up ofperiphyton. density; andtheeffectiveness offlushingflows on removing any macro-invertebrates; trout growth; whio(blueduck)numbers and River are: theeffects oftheflow regime onperiphyton growth; Key matters addressed through monitoring ontheTongariro Agreement withtheDOCTaupo Fishery. Tongariro FisheryEnhancement Fund (TFEF)viaaThird Party

ash-free drymass (AFDM)( chlorophyll abiomass ( greater than60%cover bymats3mmthick;or greater than30%cover byfilaments longer than2cm;or Observations ofsandsandgravels atallfour sites Trigger pointsfor whenflushingflows are requiredto 2 ) andAFDM(9.79g/m Monthly SHMAKmacroinvertebrate data for 200mg/m²);and 35g/m²). 2 ).

all sites below theRangipoDam. scores attheWaipakihi control site were significantly higherthan control site thantheRangipoandJudgesPool sites. MeanQMCI control site andthePuketarata site butsignificantly higheratthe data. MeanMCIscores were comparable between theWaipakihi results from 2011to 2014butwere alllower compared to the2010 site. Total densityandEPTvalues were allcomparable to at theRangipodamsite whencompared to theWaipakihi control Whereas, taxa richness andEPTdensitywere significantly lower Puketarata andJudgesPool sites and Waipakihi control site. total densitiesandEPTrichness were similarbetween the Quantitative samplinginMarch 2015found thattaxa richness, other sites. significantly highermeannumber ofindividualsper stone thanall site wassimilarto theWaipakihi control site. JudgesPool hada site. Themeannumberof individualsperstone attheRangipo per stone compared to theWaipakihi control site andtheRangipo found to have asignificantly greater meannumberofindividuals The Puketarata andJudgesPool sites below RangipoDamwere FIGURE 11//Mayfly,Stonefly &Caddisfly(EPT)

21 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 22 TONGARIRO // 15 greater than60m³/s upstream ofthedam andare forecast to of flushingflows, flushes are only undertaken wheninflows are this sedimentisflushedfrom thedam. To minimisetheeffect natural conditions orinflood conditions, except duringtimes when the flow downstream ofthedamisclearer thanit would beunder accumulation behindtheDam.For thevast majorityofthetime sediment dynamicsoftheTongariro River andresult insediment The reduced flow velocities inRangipo Damhave changedthe 4.3 SEDIMENT(EROSION,TRANSPORTANDDEPOSITION) every ten years, withthenext survey to occur inDecember 2018. extensive catchment widesurveys oftheupperTongariro River The whiomonitoring regime for theRangiporeach involves more ducks) asadirect result oftheTPSmitigationpackage. The nationalwhiopopulationhasgrown bymore than10%(300 rivers (seeSection5.2)andatTaranaki (seeSection7.2). by significantly increasing whiopopulationson Western Diversion Central NorthIslandBlueDuckConservation Charitable Trust, river since 1983hasbeensuccessfully mitigated, through the The potential loss offive orsixpairs ofwhiofrom thissectionof lower, whiopopulation intheRangiporeach (below theDam). commissioning ofRangipoDamin1983showing astable, though yearly monitoring. There isnow 25years ofannualdata since the modify thewhiomonitoring regime from annualmonitoring to 10 2009 to itsresource consent for theupperTongariro River to Blue Duck(Whio) access to license databases for compliance purposes. office viathe cell phonenetwork. They alsoallow instant online also available for analysis immediately andcan besentbackto the experienced usingthepaperbasedsurvey system. Thedata is the needfor data entryandminimisingfurtherpotential errors rangers record angler andfishdata electronically, removing These tablets make useofseveral Android applications to help surveys andlicence checks,primarily ontheTongariro River. purchase five rugged,waterproof ‘tablets’ to undertake angler drivers ofanglingparticipationtheTongariro Fishery;andto model andobtain data to helpfisherymanagers understand the The TFEFalsocontributed to thedevelopment ofaneconomic way ofmonitoring thestate oftheTaupo Fishery. zooplankton, willhopefully helpidentifywhatisthemost effective between spawningevents and,combined withthemonitoring of trapping, willallow fisheries staff to monitor thesurvival offish spend theirtime.Thisnew approach, combined withtheroutine understanding theTongariro River trout fisheryandwhere trout this analysis mayform anexciting new lineofresearch into better that trout can live induringtheirlife cycle. Inlightoftheresults, The initialproject involved isotopic analysis ofdifferent waterways understanding thelife cycle oftrout intheTongariro River system. signatures infish returning to spawn to provide ameansof DOC have alsostarted exploring theuseofradio isotopic trout thatreturn to spawn,inacost effective way. important to obtaining critical fisheriesdata onageandsizeofthe of areliable automated electronic communication system is PIT tag detection system andthefish counter. Thedevelopment counter andrainfall recorder, aswell asinterference between the However, there have beenissues around theaccuracy ofthefish there isahighnumberoffish to process orthetrap isinflood. to clear thetrap ifthere are nofish to process and staff know when benefits ofthissystem are that: staff no longer need to besent out the trap can alsobetriggered thatsendsimagesofthetrap. The reached, indicating animminentflood.A remote camera surveying telemetered viatext message whenaprescribed threshold is demand, viathecell phonenetwork. Inaddition,rainfall data is trout passing through thetrap. Thisinformation can besent,on It alsodetects anymovement ofPIT-tagged adultorjuvenile designed to automatically count trout moving upstream to spawn. to contribute to theWaipa fishtrap detection system, whichis A key focus oftheTFEFduringreporting periodhasbeen under anAgreement withDOC. trout fisheryenhancement onthe Tongariro River viatheTFEF Trout Studies GenesisEnergy contributes annualfundingtowards GenesisEnergy wasgranted avariation in

May 2015,withtheresults showing thatthearea wasclear of A divinginspectionoftheforebay area wascompleted on26 and operations reinstated. Rangipo Dam.Once theflushwas competed thedamwas refilled most ofthesedimentthathadsettled intheintake forebay at to theextended nature oftheflush,itwassuccessful in removing 12). Themaximumflow duringthisperiodwas252m flush occurred over two daysfrom 3 to 4August 2014(seeFigure Rangipo Damwasflushedonce duringthe reporting period,the Tongariro River. and exceed 160m³/s.Theflow isthen routed through to the Genesis Energy must alsoshutPoutu Intake whenflows reach To prevent bedbuildupinPoutu CanalandRotoaira Channel, predicts inflows up to two daysinadvance. model generates data updates in15minute time-steps and Waipakihi site isupstream ofRangipoDamandtheinflow forecast flow station andthe relevant rainfall data. The Tongariro River at flushing shouldoccur usingthe Tongariro River at Waipakihi Energy hasdeveloped amethodology for determining when To assist withthepre-emptive release ofsediment,Genesis that resembles theriver’s natural flood recession. Rangipo Power Station andPoutu Intake following aflushinway sediment plumethrough thesystem, andthento reinstate sediment early inafloodsothatthewave “pushes”the The purposeoftheflushing regime for RangipoDamis to release sediment iseffectively routed through theTongariro River. regime alsorequires thePoutu Intake to beshutsothatthe is transported through theTongariro River to Lake Taupo. This through theriver. Sedimentisscoured from behindthedamand exceed 100m³/s,inorder to maximisethetransfer ofsediment Channel. Figure 13shows compliance duringthereporting period. sediment from beingdeposited into thePoutu CanalandRotoaira can bediverted atPoutu Intake following aflush to prevent flushed Resource Consent103875(condition 6)defines how much water flush event anddemonstrates thatfull compliance wasachieved. 12 shows theoperation ofRangipoPower Station duringtheAugust based ontheturbidityofwater asmeasured atPoutu Intake. Figure generation can occur atRangipoPower Station following aflush Resource Consent103867(condition 16)defineshow much the needfor additionalsurveys, andflushing,willbeassessed. undertaken onanannualbasis.Intheevent ofvery highinflows, normal inflow scenarios, sedimentinspectionswill continue to be minimal sedimentwaspresent intheintake forebay. Under sensors on8June2015whichrevealed thesameresults; that sediment. Afurthersedimentsurvey wascompleted withacoustic 3 August 2014. FIGURE 12//RangipoPower Station flushingcompliance, 3 /s, anddue

Rangipo Damandtwo 30m³/ssix-hour releases are provided on released for eighthours duration onseparate weekends from from RangipoDamandPoutu Intake. Three 30m³/sflows are Outdoors, GenesisEnergy agreed to provide recreational releases In 2000,through consultation withWhitewater NZandHillary Access 10). and commercial groups viaKaimanawaRoad(otherwiseknown as unrestricted access to theTongariro River for bothrecreational Forest Trust, involving thepaymentofanannualfee, to provide Genesis Energy hasanagreement withtheLake Rotoaira as most ofthekey access roads are private roads. However, Legal access to theupperTongariro River isextremely limited, 4.4 RECREATION ANDTOURISM Poutu Intake WRC103875 (6) Rangipo DamWRC103867(14,15,16,17) for boththegate triggerandclosure timesspecified. were fully compliant withthe160m The remaining four highflow events duringthe reporting period closure requirement. in thereporting periodwere compliant withthetwo hourgate being greater than160m The gate must also befully closed withintwo hours oftheflow public complaints were received. No adverse effects resulted from thenon-compliance andno occurred, along withtheoutcomes ofaninternal investigation. The non-compliance wascommunicated to WRCatthetime it compliance of42 minutes for thegate to betriggered for closure. gate wasnottriggered to close until17:10meaninganon- On 27April2015theflow rose above 160m 2015, 15May3and20June2015. be closed. Thesehighflows occurred on:3August 2014, 27 April Tongariro River, underthesecircumstances thePoutu Intake must in thereporting perioddueto aflow of160m The flow into the Poutu Canaldiversion was ceased five times and nopubliccomplaints were received. outcomes. Noadverse effects resulted from thenon-compliance to WRCatthetimeitoccurred, along withtheinvestigation happening inthefuture. Thenon-compliance wascommunicated appropriate actionshave beenimplemented to prevent thisfrom diverted into Poutu Canal.Afullinvestigation wasundertaken and m result, atthe36and48hoursteps respectively, amaximumof4.8 miscalculation oftheconsented flow rules for thisoperation. Asa stipulated intheconsent. Thenon-compliance wastheresult ofa and relates to theamountofwater thatcould betaken as A non-compliance occurred onthere-instating ofthecanal 3 /s and3.6m FIGURE 13//Poutu Intake flushingcompliance, 3August 2014. 3 /s over andabove theconsented allowance was 3 /s intheTongariro River. Allevents 3 /s consent conditions thatis,

3 /s at16:28,butthe 3 /s ormore inthe

Tongariro River duringthereporting period(Table 9). Five recreational flow release weekends were heldonthe Poutu Intake WRC103875(7) Rangipo DamWRC103867(7) notification isinplace. stakeholders to ensure thatappropriate signageandpublic critical importance. GenesisEnergy works closely withrelevant the recreational releases anddownstream river users, isof Public safety, bothinterms ofthosepeople participatingin increased flows. in advance sothatkayakers andrafters can make themost ofthe the RangipoDamreleases. Thetimingofthesereleases issetwell the lower Tongariro River from Poutu Intake, whichcoincide with weeds beingtransferred into thearea. GenesisEnergy has recreational releases, there maybeanincreased risk of aquatic With manyvisitors coming to theTongariro River for the positive for boththeRangipo DamandPoutu Intake releases. each oftherelease days.Feedback from kayakers and rafters was promoted byWhitewater NZ,andmore than100people attended The release weekends were, highly successful. They were actively Again, nopubliccomplaints were received aboutthisrelease. reason, the release wasdesignated asaminornon-compliance. was recorded attheTongariro atRangipoflow station. For this the flow dipped under30m utilised. Despite this,there were seven, five minute periodswhere Rangipo Dam(includingwithMoawhangovalve fully open)was were around 30m Flows exceeded 30m non-compliance astheflow dropped below 30m for aduration of8hours and3minutes, however there wasaminor release where GenesisEnergy released anaverage flow of30.5m On 19April2015asimilarsituationoccurred for theRangipoDam complaints were received regarding thisrelease. preceding therelease andthedecisionwasmadeto proceed. No discussed withWhite Water New ZealandandtheWRCindays The possibility thattherelease maynotreach 30m 29.7 m mark for theduration oftherelease, withthemeanflow being of therelease at1505hours. Theflow varied around the30m valve fully open)wasreleased from thistimeuntiltheconclusion available flow into Rangipo Dam(includingwiththeMoawhango River flow exceeded 30m flow duringthe release wasslightly less thanthe required 30m Rangipo Dam.There wasaminornon-compliance asthemean On 14February 2015arecreational flow was released from fully compliant interms ofbothflow andduration. release. Therelease from Poutu Intake on18April2015asalso releases were fully compliant for bothflow andduration ofthe from Poutu Intake andRangipoDamrespectively. Thesetwo On 13and14September 2014recreational flows were released Poutu Intake Sunday 19April2015 Saturday 14February 2015 Saturday 13 September 2014 Sunday 14September 2014 Rangipo Dam Release location anddate Saturday 18April2015 reporting period. TABLE 9//Tongariro recreational flow releases duringthe 3 /s. 3 /s until1601hours. Allavailable flow from 3 /s for thefirst timeat0757hours andflows

3 /s for thefirst timeat0700hours. All 3 /s. Theminimumflow of29.6m Average

(m 30.47 32.57 32.37 31.21 flow 29.7 3 /s) 8 hrs 25min 6 hrs 25min 8 hrs 3min 8 hrs 5min 6 hrs 2min Duration (hrs) 3 /s several times. 3 /s was Full compliance Compliance Full compliance Full compliance compliance compliance Minor non- Minor non- 3 /s 3 /s 3 3 /s. /s /s

23 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 24 TONGARIRO // 15 Central NorthIslandresponse plan. during therecreational releases are carefully alignedwiththe changing thebehaviourofriver users andtheprecautions taken North Islandresponse to didymo.Theresponse isfocussed on has worked closely withrelevant stakeholders to develop acentral Since theSouthIslandoutbreak ofdidymoin2005,GenesisEnergy Section 8.5). and reduce theriskofdidymospreading to theNorthIsland(see commitment to educate thecommunity aboutaquaticweeds and education measures are partofGenesisEnergy’s on-going entry andexit pointsontheriver. Thedidymodecontamination decontamination stations were provided byGenesisEnergy atall and effective waysto clean equipment.Duringthereleases, kayakers ontherisksofdidymoandotheraquaticweeds continued to work closely withrelevant stakeholders to educate DIVERSION WESTERN

05 25 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 26 TONGARIRO // 15 Diversion were: Key outcomes ofthe consultative process for theWestern Section 5.5). relating to thehealthandwellbeing oftheWhanganuiRiver (see Genesis Energy to work together oninitiatives andotherissues Genesis Energy paves thewayfor WhanganuiRiver Iwiand signed inDecember 2010between WhanganuiRiver Iwiand but very constructive discussions. Therelationship agreement until 2010whenGenesisEnergy andtheiwientered into lengthy No meaningfuldialogue wasestablished withWhanganuiRiver Iwi these values are maintained. The consultation process andsubsequentoutcomes ensured that TPS, andhave since become renowned asatrophy trout fishery. Lakes Te WhaiauandOtamangakau were formed aspartofthe including native fishandblueducks(whio). enhance theamountofhabitat available for freshwater ecology, downstream ofboththeMangatepopo andWhanganuiintakes, to maintained. Additionalminimumflows have beenimplemented the 1991WhanganuiRiver MinimumFlows Hearing,have been Whakapapa andWhanganuirivers, implemented asaresult of downstream ofthediversions, minimumflows onboththe In order to maintain healthyandfunctioningecosystems subsequent monitoring reports. Effects (GenesisPower Ltd,2000).Further details can befound in the Tongariro Power Development Assessment ofEnvironmental consultation process andmonitoring undertaken are describedin to fully understand effects over thelong term. Details ofthe consultative process, orwhere furthermonitoring isrequired there hasbeenachangeto theoperations resulting from the undertaken. Generally, additionalmonitoring is undertaken where have beenestablished orenhanced, ormitigationhasbeen been madeto power schemeoperations, monitoring programmes Tongariro Power Scheme(TPS).Where appropriate, changeshave Diversion to determine theeffects oftheongoingoperation ofthe undertaken ontherivers, streams andlakes oftheWestern A significant amountof research and consultation hasbeen made hydro lakes (Te WhaiauandOtamangakau). including themainstem oftheWhanganuiRiver, through two man- eight tributary rivers andstreams oftheupperWhanganuiRiver, urban development. TheWestern Diversion diverts water from modified through logging operations, exotic forestry, farming and source. Sectionswithinthecatchment area have beenseverely tangata whenuafor theircultural andspiritualvalues andasafood both ofwhichare highly valued for theirecology, recreation, andby Tongariro NationalPark andTongariro Forest Conservation Area, part oftheWhanganuicatchment islocated primarily withinthe Whanganui River (seeschememapinsidethebackcover). This The Western Diversion islocated intheheadwaters ofthe 05 WESTERNDIVERSION

no diversion ofcontaminated water bodies,withparticular increase recreational rafting/kayaking opportunitythrough: maintain healthyecosystems downstream ofintake emphasis on: structures through:

agreements withHillaryOutdoors andWhitewater New recreational releases; and measuring outcomes through themonitoring ofwhio, new minimumflows downstream oftheWhanganui and continuing minimumflows downstream ofthe recreational canoeing/rafting opportunities. Zealand withthecommon purposeof enhancing as definedinthe Western Diversion Monitoring Plan. water quality,periphyton growt andmacro-invertebrates Mangatepopo intakes; and Whakapapa Intake andontheWhanganuiRiver atTe Maire;

Ruapehu andWhakapapanuirainfall sites respectively. the reporting periodwiththemeanbeing109%and112%for the above average rainfall intheupperWhanganuicatchment for mean. Thiswasobserved intherainfall records where there was in themeanannualinflow being3%higherthanthe long term period from Aprilto Junesawmuchhigherinflows which resulted flow requirements ontheWhanganuiRiver at Te Maire. The over thesummerperiod,inorder to meetconsented minimum meant thattheWestern Diversion wasturnedoutfor long periods term meanfor thefirst ninemonthsofthe reporting period. This on theEastern Diversion where theinflows were 90%ofthe long Flow records for thereporting periodmirrored thepatterns seen 5.1 HYDROLOGY reporting period(Table 10). Full minimum flow compliance wasachieved atallsites duringthe flow period(December-May inclusive). for 109daysoutofatotal of182daystheTe Maire minimum Whakapapa Intake wasnotdiverting water eitherpartially orfully the WhanganuiatTe Maire minimumflow requirement. In total the large periods oftimebetween December andAprilto comply with Intake was notdiverting water, eitherpartially orcompletely, for As aresult ofbelow average summerinflows theWhakapapa visual amenityofthesestreams. significant enhancement to theecology, natural character and of ahealthyin-stream habitat). Theseflow releases alsoprovide provide for aquaticandwhiohabitat (whioare anindicator species from the Mangatepopo andWhanganuiintakes, respectively, to Continuous minimumflows of0.5m³/sand0.3are released months eachsummer/autumn. water beingdiverted from theWestern Diversion for upto two each year. Maintaining thisminimumflow typically results inno the WhanganuiRiver atTe Maire from December to May(inclusive) Whakapapa Intake. Aminimumflow of29m³/smust bemeton continuous minimum flow of3m³/sisprovided below the intakes, minimumflows are released at key locations. A degree, thequantityofhabitat available downstream ofthe Minimum Flows period andpercentage ofthelong term average. Flow measurement sites show meanflow over the reporting the reporting period. December to May,resulting inthe highermeanannualflow for flow requirement attheWhanganui Te Maire flow station from mean. TheWhakapapaRiver wasusedto meettheminimum while WhakapapaatFootbridge was4%higherthanthelong term Wairehu Canalrecorded aflow very close to the long term mean resource consent limitshadalways beeninplace) (seeFigure 14). when compared to long-term data (calculated asifthepresent Flows downstream of the intake structures were close to the mean

an agreement withDepartmentofConservation (DOC)and an agreement withAuckland/Waikato RegionFishandGame an agreement withtheWhanganuiandRuapehuDistrict the establishment ofarelationship agreement with provision ofriver flow information viaafree phonenumber central NorthIsland. promote whiopopulationsandtheirhabitat, particularly inthe Royal Forest andBird Societyto protect, enhance and Diversion; and opportunity withintherivers andstreams oftheWestern to address issues resulting from theloss offishing the WhanganuiRiver; Councils withakey objective ofenhancingthewater qualityof Whanganui River Iwi; and/or visitGenesisEnergy’s website;

real-time monitoring ofwater quality. development ofaVolcanic ActivityManagementPlan (VAMP); and To maintain thequalityand,to asignificant

Te WhaiauCulvert MWRC101289 Whanganui Intake MWRC101288 Te WhaiauCanalMWRC101287 Mangatepopo Intake MWRC101286 Tawhitikuri Intake MWRC101285 Taurewa Intake MWRC101284 Okupata Intake MWRC101283 Whakapapa Intake MWRC101282(1) achieved duringthereporting period. Compliance withthisresource consent requirement wastherefore flow capacities have occurred to anyofthese structures. modifications that could have resulted inchanges to themaximum specified in resource consents, basedondesigncriteria. No Maximum Flows Whanganui River at Te Maire Downstream Intake Whanganui River at Downstream Intake Mangatepopo Stream at Footbridge Whakapapa River at Location FI at Te Maire must be29m for thereporting period.*Theminimumflow oftheWhanganuiRiver TABLE 10// GURE 14// Whanganui River catchment minimumflow compliance Western Diversion Hydrology Monitoring sites for thereporting period. Several structures have maximumflow limits 3 /s from 1December -31Mayeachyear. Minimum

(m Flows

3 29* 0.3 0.5 /s)

3 Compliance 100 100 100 100 (%) (condition) (7, 8,9,10) 101282 MWRC (4, 5,6) 101288 MWRC (4, 5,6) 101286 MWRC (2, 3,4) 101282 MWRC Number Consent inclusive. Full compliance wasachieved (Table 12). between 610.50mand611.98during1Aprilto 31October m and611.98during1November to 31March inclusive, and requires Lake Otamangakau to bemaintained between 610.75 Lake Levels reporting period. Full compliance wasachieved atallofthesesites duringthe station thatthissite hasreplaced. site to record flow data more accurately thanthedownstream flow using acoustic pipeflow sensors. Thesesensors willallow the the Otamangakau Valve whichnow records thevalve discharge During thereporting period,anew flow station wasinstalled at data isnotwithin±8%for 95%oftheyear. during themonitoring period.Non-compliance occurs whenthe well asthenumberofriver flow gaugingsundertaken ateachsite Table 11shows thelevel ofcompliance withtheseconditions, as Section 3.3.1for more detail ontheconsent requirements). observe iswithin±8%ofthetrueflow for 95%ofthetime(see maintained sothattheflow thepower station Generation Controllers flow rating curves (thatis,water level to flow relationships) are Flow Measurement Accuracy Wairehu CanalWRC103882 Otamangakau MWRC101292 Otamangakau CanalMWRC101291 Te WhaiauCanalMWRC101290 Resource consent MWRC101293(condition 1) Resource consents require that

27 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 28 TONGARIRO // 15 invertebrates, whio,trout andnative fish. in Section5.1andincludesmonitoring ofperiphyton, macro- to measure theresults oftheminimumflow releases outlined The Western Diversion Monitoring Planhas beendeveloped 5.2 AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS ANDWATER QUALITY at Te Maire Whanganui River at Otamangakau* Whanganui River Intake at Downstream Whanganui River at Footbridge Whakapapa River level Maximum level Minimum Parameter Location shown as%ofinvertebrates thatare mayfly(E),stonefly (P),andcaddisflies (T).Chlorophyll Alevels are shown asmg/m². FI for thereporting period. TABLE 11//WhanganuiRiver catchment rating curve compliance reporting period. TABLE 12//Lake Otamangakau lake level compliance for the GURE 15// Whakapapa,Mangatepopo Stream andWhanganuiRiver monitoring results for thereporting period.EPTmeasurements are 610.75 (Nov-Mar) 610.50 (Apr-Oct) % time Value (masl) within 100.0 ± 8% 98.7 99.4 99.4 611.98 Compliance compliance compliance compliance compliance Compliance Full Full Full Full of gaugings 100 100 (%) Number MWRC 101293(1) (condition) Consent Number MWRC 101293(1,3) N/A 13 26 9

number Consent 101282 (10) 101294 (3) 101288 (6) 101282 (5) MWRC MWRC MWRC MWRC Mangatepopo intake site (148).Thehighest QMCIwasscore quality. Thehighest average MCIscore wasrecorded atthebelow scores atallsites were indicative ofexcellent habitat andwater and below intake sites for alloftherivers. Average MCIandQMCI MCI andmeanQMCIscores were highfor boththeabove intake Macro-invertebrates found to bebelow theMfEguidelineatallsites. measured below theWhanganuiintake. AFDMlevels were also of 50mg/m levels atallsites were found to bebelow theMWRCtarget value recorded atWhanganuiRiver sites (seeFigure 15).Chlorophyll a of theintake structures, withthehighest periphyton levels levels were low inallthree rivers, bothupstream anddownstream Periphyton and macro-invertebrates are reported byTonkin andTaylor (2015). period are shown inFigure 15.Monitoring results for periphyton The Western Diversion monitoring results duringthereporting Whakapapa Intake MWRC101282(18,19) and potential nuisance periphyton build-ups. is undermost stress from warmerwater temperatures, low flows late summer/autumn.Thiscaptures theperiodwhenriver ecology Mangatepopo andWhanganuiIntakes ononeoccasion peryear in occurs atsites upstream anddownstream oftheWhakapapa, Quantitative monitoring ofperiphyton andmacro-invertebrates occurring around theregion. refining techniques to better align with other in-stream monitoring from 2012/13.Minoramendmentswere incorporated asrequired, Wanganui RegionalCouncil(MWRC)onthemonitoring results 2013/14 reporting periodto reflect feedback from Manawatu The Western Diversion Monitoring Planwasupdated duringthe significantly higherthanthebelow Whakapapaintake site (7.77). recorded attheabove Whakapapaintake site (8.12),whichwas Aswithprevious years, thedata show periphyton 2 . Thehighest value ofchlorophyll a(4.94mg/m Themeanpercentage ofEPTtaxa, mean

2 ) was for December 2017. The next Western Diversion whiomonitoring survey isscheduled holds thedensest populationofwhiointhecountry. stable flows andpredator control. The Western Diversion now substantially over time,andproductivity hasspiked inyears with established inDecember 2004.Pair numbers have increased surveys have now beencompleted since minimumflows were control measures inplace (trapping andaerial1080).Nine population intheabsence offloodsandwitheffective predator This year showed thebreeding potential oftheWestern Diversion counted. There were four contributing factors to thehighproductivity: was arecord year for whioproductivity, with218ducklingsbeing period, from just five pairs in2011 to 20pairs in2014.Thisseason increase inpairs ontheWhakapapaRiver since thelast survey were established inDecember 2004.Alsoofnote isthesubstantial a dramatic upwards trend inpairnumbers since minimumflows m. TheWhanganuiRiver andMangatepopo Stream have shown territory length ononeoftheWhanganuiReachesbeingjust 170 Pair densitiesare now very highinsomereaches, withtheaverage (See Figure 16). number ofpairs hasalmost quadrupled since 1998(from 30pairs) an increase of21pairs from thelast survey in2011,andthetotal 47.9 kmofriver surveyed, 114pairs ofwhiowere recorded. Thisis reach. Theresults are reported byDOC(Swanney, 2015).Onthe Two surveys were completed inDecember 2014oneachriver yearly surveys. amended to reduce whiomonitoring from annualsurveys to three control. In2011,theWestern Diversion Monitoring Planwas understanding thepopulationresponse to ongoingpredator 2004. Inrecent years thefocus ofthesurveys haschangedto to assess theeffectiveness ofminimumflows established in patterns ofwhiodownstream oftheintake structures, and These surveys initially served to determine the distribution surveyed includetheMangatepopo, WhanganuiandWhakapapa. with oneotherreplicable survey completed in1998.Therivers Monitoring Plan,beganontheWestern Diversion rivers in2003, Whio rivers oftheWestern Diversion. adverse ecological effects asaresult ofthediversions inthethree Overall, the2014-15monitoring round shows nosignificant

Diversion monitored rivers, 1998&2003-2014. FIGURE 16//Whiopairs perkilometre ontheTPSWestern Predator trapping along therivers. An aerial1080operation byTBFree New ZealandandDOC Stable flows duringnesting andbrood rearing; Stable winter flows resulting inhighinvertebrate numbers; throughout Tongariro Forest; and Annualwhiosurveys, aspertheWestern Diversion

(Figure 17).Thisyear’s surveys alsoinvolved aninvestigation of resource consent managementandmonitoring attheTPS to share knowledge andincrease tangata whenuaawareness Members ofNgatiHikairo kiTongariro were involved inthesurvey et.al 2015). undertaken inDecember 2014andare reported byNIWA (Boubee below theintake structures ontheTPSWestern Diversion were Three-yearly electro-fishing surveys andhabitat monitoring December 2011. a three year samplingregime. Afurthersurvey wasconducted in Diversion Monitoring Planwasamendedto reduce fishsurveys to As pertherecommendation byStevenson (2009),theWestern communities present intheupperWestern Diversion tributaries. establishment ofminimumflows hadbeen recolonised bythefish surveys itwasclear thatthereaches thatwere drypriorto the minimum flow requirements. Baseduponthe results ofthese in asimilarsurvey undertaken in1999,priorto thecurrent and December 2008andtheresults compared withthoseobtained (Bowman, 2007).Thesesurveys were repeated inFebruary 2008 Whanganui Streams inreaches below theintake structures programme wasinitiated ontheWhakapapa,Mangatepopo and In March 2007,anelectric fishingandhabitat monitoring of between 600mand700above sealevel. structures are some300kmfrom thecoast andhave anelevation between theseaandfreshwater. TheWestern Diversion intake of abouthalfthefreshwater fishspeciesinNew Zealandmove and abundance withaltitudeanddistance inland,asthelife cycles which show astrong longitudinal gradient ofreducing diversity characteristic ofNew Zealandnative freshwater fish communities, do notnaturally supportlarge populationsofnative fish.Thisis Fish Surveys agreed, the next survey would occur inDecember 2019. the Western Diversion. This willbediscussed withMWRCandif fish populationsthatinhabitthe streams andwatercourses of occur, afive year sampling regime willbeadequate to monitor have recommended that,unless physical changesto thehabitat of minimumflows have now been re-colonised byfish.NIWA clear thattheareas thatwere drypriorto theestablishment Based upontheresults ofsurveys undertaken to date, itis and koura. Two large longfins were also captured inthelake. recorded juvenile rainbow and brown trout, goldfish, common bully The survey ofLake Otamangakau andassociated tributaries regular recruitment. (juvenile eelsless than120mmlong) were recorded indicating and Mangatepopo. Awiderange ofeelsizes,includingelvers Freshwater crayfish (koura) were also recorded ontheWhanganui shortfin eels found only atsites sampled on the WhanganuiRiver. trout andlongfin eelspresent inallthree rivers surveyed and surveyed downstream oftheintakes, withrainbow trout, brown Low densitiesoffish were recorded atmost of the ten sites upstream ofintake/dam structures. further electro-fishing intheheadwaters oftheWhanganuiRiver into tunastocks inLake Otamangakau (usingfyke netting)and The rivers andstreams oftheWestern Diversion

29 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 30 TONGARIRO // 15 security fencing isbeinginvestigated. the drumscreen compound. Lightinghasbeen upgraded andnew security camera climbingover thesecurityfence to gainaccess to trespass notices were issued to people whowere recorded on are known to have alsobeentaken byothereelfishers. Three recovered bytheNgatiHikairo tunateam, atleast 20furthertuna to besignificant during rain events. Inaddition to the26tuna The presence ofotherlocal tunafishers at Wairehu continues hour period–five long-fin andonelarge short-fin female of3.2 kg. occurred inMay 2015whensixtunawere recovered inasingle 24 kg to 8.55 kg. Similarto previous years asecond (autumn)peak were recovered inasingle night, alllong-fins ranging from 0.68 tuna. Peak catch thisyear wasinDecember 2014whenninetuna reporting period.Theseincluded24long-fin andthree short-fin A total of27tunawere recovered from Wairehu duringthe potential environmental triggers for, tuna migration. and temperature, to helpfurtherunderstand thetiming of,and moon phase,weather conditions, rainfall, water clarity,water flow downstream ofintake structures. Records were alsokept ofthe before tagging andreleasing thembackinto theWhanganuiRiver stranded tunaandrecorded species,weight, length, andeye size, project for athird seasonthisreporting period.They recovered tuna stranded atWairehu (Figure 18).Theteam continued the Runanganui ONgatiHikairo KiTongariro to monitor andsalvage In October 2012,GenesisEnergy engagedmembers ofTe tuna sustainability andthehealth&safety risksatthesite. tuna stranding atWairehu isseenasameansofaddressing both through removal ofbreeding agedtuna.Proactively managing reduces thepotential recruitment oftunastocks generally, harvest ofmigrant tunaattheWairehu DrumScreens also (which operates automatically). Thestranding andsubsequent tuna, puttingthemselves atriskfrom themechanical equipment break into thesecure compound around thescreens to collect an area thatisaccessible to the public,somepeople continue to While weed and fish caught onthescreens are transferred to targeted asafood source bylocal people. fish become stranded onthedrumscreens, they are often trout into Lake Rotoaira where they donotnaturally occur. When Drum Screens isto stop fishaccess for tuna, lamprey andbrown to theoutlet ofLake Otamangakau. ThepurposeoftheWairehu others swiminto intake structures and/orfollow thewater-flow washed over spillways andcan continue theirmigration, but sea to spawn,they follow floodflows downstream. Some are Diversion (andLake Otamangakau) begin their migration to the When mature tunafrom theheadwater tributaries oftheWestern has beenanongoingissue since theTPSwascommissioned. The ‘stranding’ ofmigrant tunaontheWairehu DrumScreens Migrant Tuna ManagementatWairehu DrumScreens Whanganui River (Photo: LenaMorgan) Lena Morgan helpwithaNIWA electro-fishing survey intheupper FIGURE 17//NgatiHikairo Hapumembers Richard Barrett and

season (January/February) found elvers atbothsites, andlarge time inspectionsofthesestructures duringpeakelver migration on boththeOtamangakau Valve andWhanganuiIntake. Night 2014 (seeSection5.2)asmallattractant flow wasestablished in theupperWhanganuiRiver duringfish surveys inDecember 5.1). Following thedetection ofelvers downstream ofstructures operating to meetTe Maire summerminimumflows (seeSection discovery ofelvers ontheOtamangakau Valve while thevalve was Elver Transfer significantly reduce flow). Key objectives oftheagreement are to: were asignificant proportion ofthenatural flow (which would significant benefits tothefishery would only occurif the releases more appropriate than arelease ofadditionalwater, asany the Auckland/Waikato Fish andGameCouncil.Thiswasconsidered River byundertaking enhancement measures inpartnership with has mitigated thereduction oftrout numbers intheWhakapapa reduction inhabitat asaresult ofthelower flows. GenesisEnergy rainbow trout populationsbelow theWhakapapaIntake dueto a Trout recruitment oftunainto thesewaterways for over 40years. Figure 19).Theseelver transfers represent thefirst significant Otamangakau anditstributaries (approximately 2,000)(see above theWhanganuiIntake (approximately 3,000)andinto Lake of 5,067elvers were collected from thevalve for relocation numbers atthevalve. From late Januaryto late March, atotal is seento theleft onthevalve-house wall.(Photo: JohnMorgan) elvers attheOtamangakau Valve. The‘attractant flow’ delivery pipe FIGURE 19//NgatiHikairo tunateam memberLenaMorgan collects survey (Photo: NIWA) large long-fin tunafrom theLake Otamangakau stock assessment FIGURE 18//NgatiHikairo HapumemberRichard Barrett withtwo Theinitialoperation oftheTPSresulted inadecrease of Of significance duringthe reporting periodwasthe flows andwater diverted bytheTPS. in theregion providing fishingopportunitiesdue to the controlled wet summers theheadwaters willoften beoneofthefew rivers flows (to meetminimumflow requirements at TeMaire), while in dry summers theheadwaters willrarely befishable due to high the numberofdaysthatriver isfishable over summer. During in theWhakapapaheadwaters can have aconsiderable impacton capacity undertheexisting flow regime. The controlled flow regime Intake in1992andtheriver maynow beatitsmaximumcarrying establishment of the3.0m³/sminimumflow below theWhakapapa Rainbow andbrown trout numbers appearto have stabilised since are shown inFigure 20. dive surveys intheheadwaters oftheWhakapapaRiver since 1994 new site established nearOwhangoin2014.Resultsofalldrift below theWhakapapafootbridge gaugingstation; andoneatthe Whakapapa River duringJanuary2015:oneatthe regular site Two driftdive surveys were carried outintheheadwaters ofthe summarised byAuckland/Waikato FishandGame(Daniel,2015). Activities ontheWhakapapaRiver duringthereporting periodare environmental projects - social,economic and River Enhancement Funding (The Catalyst Group) Model Catchment Project Regional Council) Project (ManawatuWanganui Water QualityEnhancement Project

at Owhango. upper WhakapapaRiver atthegaugingstation bridge(gauge)and FIGURE 20//Numberoflarge (≥40cm)trout perkmofthe TABLE 13// support abilityto meetstatutory responsibility. enhance anglingopportunities;and mitigate theeffects of theTPSontrout habitat; WhanganuiRiver Enhancement Charitable Trust (WRET)result areas duringthereporting period.

Objective

community. clear benefit to awide component ofthe Whanganui River oritstributaries andshow that relate to theuseandenjoyment ofthe economic andenvironmental outcomes catchment thatare focused onsocial, To promote projects intheWhanganui smaller catchments. in theWhanganuicatchment bytargeting To promote water qualityenhancement and education. erosion “hotspots”,implementing farm plans in theWhanganuicatchment bytargeting To promote water qualityenhancement

To assist widercommunity aspirations for enhancingtheWhanganui 5.3 WHANGANUI RIVERENHANCEMENTTRUST great platform to improve data collection inthecoming year. and willbeaddressed in2015/16.Theinitialstudy hasprovided a assessing anglers’ useofthemidWhakapapaislargely unanswered impacts ofadditionalimprovements inaccess. Thesecondary goalof understanding ofnotonly thefishers inthearea butthepotential ability to seeanglers usingtheresource allows for amuchbetter management ofboththeWhakapapaandWhanganuiRivers. The yielded valuable data thathasprovided agoodbasisfor future From areview ofover 10,000photos, thefirst year ofthe study private property requiring along hike upordown theriver. of theriver isnoteasily accessible because itislandlocked by Whakapapa Footbridge gaugingstation andOwhango.Thissection public access wasneededontheWhakapapaRiver between the The study hadasecondary goalofdetermining ifadditional Upper WhanganuiRivers duringthe2014/2015fishingseason. randomly selected monitoring locations ontheWhakapapaand extensive angler monitoring program using18gamecameras at mountain bike andATV tracks FishandGamestaff conducted an In response to concerns ofincreased anglingpressure caused by recorded since records beganin1994. rainbows intheWhakapapaFootbridge reach wasthehighest a trend ofincreasing trout numbers andthedensityofoversized that isexpected withdrift-diving.Inrecent years there hasbeen not significant andwas well withinthe variability between surveys were slightly down intheOwhangoBridgereach, thedeclinewas of providing atrophy fishery. Although oversized rainbow numbers cm) rainbow and brown trout and is meeting the management goal Overall theWhakapapafisheryhashighnumbers of oversized (40+ The Trust aimsto: funds annually to allow theTrust to meetitsobjectives. Enhancement Charitable Trust (WRET).GenesisEnergy provides Ruapehu District Council(RDC)have formed theWhanganuiRiver River, GenesisEnergy, theWanganui District Council(WDC)and

contribute to education aboutthehealthandwell-being ofthe make fundingavailable for social,economic and promote enhancement ofthequalitywaters andcatchment Whanganui River. environmental river enhancement projects; and of theWhanganuiRiver; Result Areas

Te HokingaMai-fundingfor two environmental /leadership camps. improvements to thesestreams. Awarua andKaikokopu Stream rejuvenation -fundingfor stock from gorge margins. Mangaturuturu Gorge Fence -fundingfor fencing to exclude Moore Family Biodiversity Project -wetland reinstatement. programme. and involvement inthePiopiotea water qualitysampling have beenprogressed, withahighlevel ofcommunity interest The Piopiotea andKakahiStream modelcatchment projects 206.91 haofarea protected byerosion control works in2014/15. 51 new erosion programmes approved. further sites have beenidentifiedbyHorizons for development. Poplar Pole Nursery -two nurserys have beenestablished, and works andpromote themodelfarm to otherfarmers. and RoseanneParkes (Farm Owners) to undertake anarray of Work continued onthedemonstration farm concept withEvan

31 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 32 TONGARIRO // 15 reporting periodare provided inTable 14. discuss thedirection oftheKEF. Key results for theKEF for the Committee members metthroughout thereporting periodto established in2003 andaimsto: Genesis Energy Kayak Education Fund (KEF).Thefundwas provide educational opportunitiesthrough theHillaryOutdoors addition to therecreational releases, GenesisEnergy agreed to recreational opportunities ontheWestern Diversion rivers. In Centre) raised concerns thatreduced flows were limiting Hillary Outdoors (formerly SirEdmundHillaryOutdoorPersuits Hillary Outdoors GenesisEnergy Kayak Education Fund 5.4.2 RECREATIONAL INITIATIVES or thedesignated backupdayswere able to proceed. insufficient natural flow intheriver, neither recreational release for 15August and5September 2014.Unfortunately, dueto Recreational releases ontheWhakapapaRiver were planned Whakapapa Intake MWRC101282(6) updates itswebsite, www.rivers.org, onthestatus ofreleases. Genesis Energy liaiseswithWhitewater NZwhichregularly day. Ifthere isstill insufficientflow, the release is cancelled. reach therequired 16m³/s,therelease isdeferred to thefollowing possible. Iftheflow ontheset release date isnot expected to kayakers andrafters can utilisetheopportunityasmuch The timingofthesereleases issetwell inadvance sothat period ofeighthours thefullflow is released. natural flow oftheWhakapapaRiver exceeds 16m³/s,and for a recreational releases per year ondedicated weekends whenthe opportunities onthisriver. Inrecognition ofthisthere are two The reduced flow ontheWhakapapaRiver haslimited recreational 5.4.1 RECREATIONAL RELEASES 5.4 RECREATION ANDTOURISM RDC andWDC. nominees intheRMAprocess. Nomineeswere identifiedthrough used to fundResource ManagementAct(RMA)training to up-skill applications were received. Thescholarship fundingwasinstead No scholarships were granted duringthereporting periodasno the KakahiStream catchment. ` catchment andcollecting baselinemonitoring information from implement aprogramme ofworks for thePiopiotea Stream During thereporting periodtheCatalyst Group continued to priority WhanganuiRiver catchments. seek to demonstrate mediumterm gainsinwater qualitywithin project andtheDemonstration Farm Planconcept. Bothprojects Key highlightsfor thereporting periodwere theModelCatchment projects underwayandtheoutcomes to date. implemented duringthereporting period.Table 13identifies key funding initiatives thattheTrust issupporting,continued to be The three year strategic plan(2013-16)outliningthemajor

purchase resources for thedevelopment ofkayaking students run workshops onadvanced techniques and/orprovide provide sponsorship for students andteachers to attend on courses. kayaking instruction inNew Zealand;and Zealand to raise thelevel ofrecreational kayaking and funding for instructors to attend courses elsewhere inNew kayak courses atHillaryOutdoors;

upskilling, andalsobythepublic. used byHillaryOutdoors instructors, for theirown recreation and Outdoors for theirtertiary group courses. Theplayhole isalso During thereporting periodtheplayhole wasusedbyHillary Outdoors andWhitewater NZto explore optionsto promote it. it utilisedasmuchpossible, andcontinues to work withHillary the development oftheplayhole, GenesisEnergy iseagerto see wider community. Given thetimeandresources thatwasputinto The facility isusedbyHillaryOutdoors ,schoolgroups andthe Zealand aswell asoverseas. which hasthepotential to attract paddlers from throughout New North Islandnow hasaplayhole facility ofinternational standard after sixyears ofdesign,testing andmodification. The central The Wairehu CanalKayak/Canoe Playhole openedinMarch 2010 resource ofbroad recreational benefit. playhole ontheWairehu Canalorsomeotherrecreational Whitewater NZto provide for thedevelopment ofakayaking the KEF,agreement wasreached withHillaryOutdoors and Wairehu Playhole established. Thepurposeofthis fundisto resource projects that A contestable fund, Te ManaoTe Awa(Figure 21),hasbeen majority ofwork streams underwayand ontrack. and significant progress hasbeen madeinthis regard, withthe appointed to manage theimplementation oftheactionplan Relationship Group. Inearly 2015,aprogramme manager was In 2014anactionplanwascompleted andagreed bythe Whainga Take kite ManaoTe Awa. area offocus, while continuing to achieve theoutcomes from Hei improving theirrelationship atagovernance level. Thisisan Iwi continue to affirmtheir commitment to strengthening and representing WhanganuiRiver Iwi.GenesisEnergy andWhanganui Board to NgaTangata Tiaki,thepost-treaty settlement entity agreement wastransferred from theWhanganuiMaoriTrust During thereporting periodtheresponsibility for therelationship high level Governance Group ofrepresentatives from bothparties. and awork programme for three years, whichwasendorsed bythe regularly andcompleted theGovernance Plan,Implementation Plan has beenformed to implement theagreements. Thegroup hasmet A RelationshipGroup involving representatives from bothparties around theobjectives andimplementation oftherelationship. Agreement (HeiWhakamahinga).Thesecontain furtherdetail Agreement (HeiWhaingaKiTe ManaOTe Awa)andaResourcing The RelationshipAgreement issupported byanInitiatives the WhanganuiRiver. initiatives andotherissues relating to thehealthandwellbeing of Whanganui River IwiandGenesisEnergy to work together on Te Awa)provides theframework andmechanismsto enable the The RelationshipAgreement (HeiWhakaaro Tahi KiTe ManaO begin to address thesematters. hapu andwhanauoftheWhanganuiRiver) andGenesisEnergy to between theWhanganuiMaoriTrust Board (representing theiwi, River. InDecember 2010arelationship agreement wasreached opposed to thediversion oftheheadwaters oftheWhanganui between tangata whenuaandtheriver. WhanganuiIwiremain the TPShasadverse effects ontheriver andontherelationship The iwi,hapuandwhanauoftheWhanganuiRiver consider that 5.5 WHANGANUI IWI Whitewater kayaking helmets 1-day youth kayak course training Hillary Outdoors staff kayak Aims result areas for thereporting period. TABLE 14//HillaryOutdoors GenesisEnergy Kayak Education Fund Inadditionto therecreational releases and 1weekend course (8participants) 5 courses (50participants) 16 purchased 2014-15

Tiaki website - For furtherinformation onTe ManaoTe AwaseetheNgaTangata Waka andRangatahi Summit. the healthandwellbeing ofTe AwaTupua, includingtheTira Hoe to supportiwiled initiatives andwanangathatfocus onensuring During thereporting period,theRelationshipGroup continued training programme. as isaresearch andmonitoring programme, andagovernance Scholarships underTe ManaoTe Awaare alsobeingprogressed, to promote andsupportprojects that: Tupua andWhanganuiIwi. Thestrategic objectives ofthefundare enhance andprotect thehealthandwellbeing ofbothTe Awa

FIGURE 21//Te ManaoTe Awalogo. Strengthen andgrow thecapacity ofWhanganuiIwito Strengthen therelationship ofWhanganuiIwiwithTe AwaTupua; Enhance andprotect thecultural, environmental, social, Enhance andprotect theenvironmental, cultural andspiritual management andregulation inrespect ofTe AwaTupua. undertake andexercise aprimaryrole inplanning, political andeconomic development ofWhanganuiIwi; health andwellbeing ofTe AwaTupua; www.ngatangatatiaki.co.nz

33 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 34 TONGARIRO // 15 06 LAKE TAUPO LAKE ROTOAIRA / has increased byafactor ofseven due to theEastern andWestern its own catchment area. Themeanflow ofwater through thelake Western Diversion viaWairehu Canal;andless than0.5m from theEastern Diversion viaPoutu Canal:19m Lake Rotoaira receives amean inflow ofalmost 50m 6.1.1 HYDROLOGY Energy withgreater long term certainty for theircurrent activities. generation (seeFigure 22). Theeasementalsoprovides Genesis Genesis Energy’s use ofthelake andsurrounding landfor hydro (who own muchofthesurrounding land)whichrecognises between theLake Rotoaira Trust andLake Rotoaira Forest Trust In 2014GenesisEnergy entered into aneasementarrangement Key outcomes ofthe consultative process for Lake Rotoaira were: population reduction. into thePoutu and Wairehu canals, mayalsocontribute to the larvae intheTokaanu Power Station Intake, andtheirmovement probably nomore thanpriorto thescheme.Entrainment ofkoaro Predation bytrout hassuppressed thekoaro population, though so ithasbeendifficult to assess thedirect impactofthescheme. There were nostudies ofthekoaro populationpriorto theTPS, fewer, butlarger rainbow trout inthelake. reduction inkoaro numbers hasbeenobserved, andthere are now some changesinthestructure ofthelake fishery. Inparticular,a a healthyandproductive ecosystem. However, there have been Lake Rotoaira has maintained excellent water quality and supports and Wairehu canals andoutflows viathe Tokaanu Intake. being wind-driven to beingdriven bywater inflows from the Poutu 300 mm.Thelake circulation patterns have alsochanged from been replaced withadaily andweekly fluctuationofapproximately and thenatural seasonal400mmfluctuationin water level has The level ofthelake has beenraised bybetween 500and600mm, residence timeofwater withinthelake from 247daysto 28days. Diversions, andasaconsequence, hasreduced theaverage has increased inflows to Lake Rotoaira viatheEastern and Western to retain somewater instorage. TheTongariro Power Scheme(TPS) The lake actsasareservoir for Tokaanu Power Station andisable Rotoaira Trust onbehalfofapproximately 11,500owners. Lake Rotoaira isaprivately owned lake, administered bytheLake 6.1 LAKEROTOAIRA 06 LAKEROTOAIRA BASIN/LAKETAUPO

Relationship Agreement inSeptember 2014. FIGURE 22//Attendees atthesigningofLake Rotoaira an agreement between Genesis Energy and the Lake Rotoaira limits placed onthelake level operating range; and Trust to enhance thehealthoflake andthetrout fishery. 3 /s from the 3 /s: 30.4m

3 /s from 3 /s

this circumstance”. done to alleviate anyoperational andmaintenance constraints in blockages andshutdowns). Everything practicable must be account operational andmaintenance constraints suchasweed down andTokaanu Power Station isoperating fully (taking into continuing to risewhenbothWairehu andPoutu canals are shut The definitionof‘extraordinary flood conditions’ is“thelake level compliance andtheoutcomes oftheevent investigation. Lake Rotoaira Trust andWRCwere advisedoftheminornon- as possible viaincreased generation atTokaanu Power Station. event andthelake level wasbrought undercontrol asquickly 23 below. Thenon-compliance occurred duringahighinflow 5 minutes, thecompliance data isshown inTable 15andFigure maximum control level byamaximumof0.02mfor 2hours and compliance on3August 2014where thelake level breached the this level inextraordinary flood conditions. There wasonenon- m, between 564.25masland564.64masl,butmaygoabove Lake Levels Tokaanu Power Station Take WRC103883 Wairehu CanalDischarge WRC103882 Poutu CanalDischarge to LRotoaira WRC103878 therefore achieved duringthereporting period. could alter flow capacities. Compliance with these conditions was have beennomodifications to anyofthese structures which specified in resource consents, basedondesigncriteria. There Maximum Flows Rotoaira hadanatural flow rate of6.9m Diversions andtheTokaanu Power Station. Originally, Lake Poutu DamWRC103879 (8) during thereporting period. modifications to thedam,andtherefore compliance wasachieved resource consents, basedondesigncriteria. There have beenno Dam Specifications Maximum level Minimum level Parameter FIGURE 23// reporting period. TABLE 15//Lake Rotoaira level compliance duringthe Lake Rotoaira hasanormaloperating range of0.39 Lake Levels atLake Rotoaira duringthereporting period. Several structures have maximumflow limits Value (masl) Thespecifications of Poutu Damare defined in 564.64 564.25

Compliance (%)

3 /s.

99.98 100

(condition) Consent Number

WRC 103879(1) WRC 103879(1)

35 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 36 TONGARIRO // 15 strict conditions, includingtransport routes, for suchdisposal. Intake weed compound, to local gardens. This permitdictates transport Hornwort andLagarosiphon offsite from theTokaanu (MPI) undertheBiosecurityAct,allows Genesis Energy to A Section52Permit, issued byMinistry for PrimaryIndustries management strategy. from theweed harvesting trialto develop alonger term weed Lake Rotoaira Trust andGenesisEnergy will useinformation vegetable gardens. Farms, aswell aslocal Marae andschools,ascompost for (Figure 25). Thisweed willbedelivered to theTongariro Prison (783 ton) ofgreen weed to reduce potential generation constraints between 11Mayand8June2015harvested almost 2,610m³ belonging to theBayofPlenty RegionalCouncilwasdeployed together to start aweed harvesting trial. Aweed harvesting vessel In April2015,GenesisEnergy andLake Rotoaira Trust worked in significant generation constraints at Tokaanu Power Station. high generation (Figure 24). Previously thissituationhasresulted entrained ontheintake screen duringperiodsofhighwindand dense weed bedsdeveloped offtheTokaanu Intake, waitingto be and Lagarosiphon) growth inLake Rotoaira. Some20–30haof the 2014/15summerresulted inspectacular weed (Hornwort Aquatic Weed Management monitoring programme between September 2006andJune2009. In advance ofthiswork, GenesisEnergy undertook alake management planfor thelake (seeSection6.1.3)whichwillinclude: lake fishery. Lake Rotoaira Trust is working onimplementinga the effects oftheTPSonlake, andpromote andenhance the Genesis Energy isworking withtheLake Rotoaira Trust to address 6.1.2 AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS ANDWATER QUALITY Rotoaira duringApril2015. FIGURE 24//Aquaticweed bedsofftheTokaanu Intake atLake

trout fisherymonitoring. macrophyte (aquaticweed) surveys; and water qualitymonitoring: The hot,sunny,calm weather during

Relationship Group hasbeenestablished withrepresentatives engagement between thetwo organisations. As aresult a Energy varied theagreement withtheaimoffacilitating better on Lake Rotoaira. In2011theLake Rotoaira Trust andGenesis deals withtheenvironmental andcultural impactsoftheTPS the bedofLake Rotoaira) reached athird partyagreement that In 2000GenesisEnergy andtheLake Rotoaira Trust (whoown 6.1.3 LAKEROTOAIRA TRUST Tokaanu Stream Diversion WRC103885(1,3,4,5) Management Plan. and implementation ofthecommunity’s Tokaanu Stream Tokaanu Stream community to assist withthedevelopment Genesis Energy contributes expertise andfundsto the in theTokaanu Stream andare notlost to thetailrace. Tailrace isoperated andmaintained sothatnormalflows remain maintain theirhydraulic capacities. Thespillway to theTokaanu aqueduct sothatthey are free from sedimentbuild-upand Genesis Energy maintains theTokaanu Stream canal and Key outcomes oftheconsultative process for theTokaanu Stream are: reduce theabilityof stream to clear itselfofsediment. The reduced floodsinthe lower reaches ofthe Tokaanu Stream incidences offloodsinthe lower reaches ofthe Tokaanu Stream. are discharged into theTokaanu Tailrace, results inreduced The designoftheTokaanu Stream Diversion, where peakflows 6.2 TOKAANU STREAM developing ameaningfulandenduringrelationship. of thelake anditstributaries. Bothpartiesare committed to The Planfocuses ontheecological, cultural andeconomic health The development oftheLake ManagementPlanisunderway. The objectives oftheRelationshipGroup are: from bothgroups. FIGURE 25//Weed harvesting operation inactionatTokaanu Intake.

annual consultative meetingswiththeTokaanu community, development ofaTokaanu Stream ManagementPlanand consent conditions asto how andwhendesiltingofthe to furtherstrengthen anddevelop therelationship between to continue to take steps to ensure theenvironmental effects to assist thedevelopment, review andimplementation ofthe via theTokaanu Stream ManagementGroup (TSMG) associated consultation framework; and Tokaanu Stream Diversion channelcan occur; the parties. term oftheresource consents; and of theTPSare avoided, remedied andmitigated duringthe Lake ManagementPlan;

Wairehu CanalDischarge WRC103882(1) Moawhango Tunnel Discharge WRC103863 (2) extended periodoflow inflows from early summer to late autumn. year, whichreflects themoderate inflows duringwinter 2014andthe The lake level didnotexceed 73%(356.87m)atanypointduringthe Figure 26shows thelevel ofLake Taupo for thereporting period. required to cease thediversion offoreign water. period there were nooccasions where Genesis Energy was maximum control level (MCL)of357.25masl.Duringthereporting whenever Lake Taupo exceeds, orisclearly likely to exceed, its that is,water from theMoawhangoTunnel andWairehu Canal, Genesis Energy isrequired to cease thediversion offoreign water, 6.3.1 HYDROLOGY MAXIMUMLEVELS clearly likely to reach, itsmaximumcontrol level (i.e.357.25masl). diversion offoreign water from the TPSwhenLake Taupo isat,or is consent conditions thatrequire GenesisEnergy to cease the The key outcomes oftheconsultative process for Lake Taupo on Lake Taupo andtheWaikato River. develop asetofprinciples andrules to guide floodmanagement Mighty River Power andWaikato RegionalCouncil(WRC)to by MightyRiver Power. GenesisEnergy hasworked closely with near theLake Taupo outlet. Thesegates are owned andoperated via theLake Taupo Control Gates located ontheWaikato River For purposesofclarification, the level ofLake Taupo ismanaged of theTPS,additionalprecautions have beenputinplace. lower thanwould have occurred naturally since thecommissioning shown thatonaverage thelevel ofLake Taupo hasbeenmanaged Lake Taupo andwithinthelower Waikato River. Althoughhistory has Diversions to enhance thelikelihood, orseverity of,floodingaround potential for additionalwater from theEastern andWestern During theconsultative process, issues were raised aboutthe approximately 29m³/s,or20%onaverage. an increased outflow from thelake to the Waikato River of The increased water inflow into thelake corresponds with Moawhango andWhangaehucatchment water andlocal inflow. a mixture ofTongariro River water, Western Diversion water, Water entering Lake Taupo viatheTokaanu Tailrace contains 6.3 TOKAANU TAILRACE ANDLAKETAUPO find away forward for the works to beundertaken. maintenance works. Thecommunity group iscurrently working to the preparation ofadetailed work planandcosting for stream At therequest ofthecommunity group, GenesisEnergy funded and discussed anumberofissues andpotential waysforward. met several timeswiththenew chairmanandcommunity group elected anew chairmanandrepresentatives. GenesisEnergy During thereporting period,theTokaanu stream community group FIGURE 26//Lake Taupo level for thereporting period.

four timesayear to provide industry andpublicinputto Councilon Catchment Committee, convened byWRC.TheCommittee meets stakeholders through arepresentative ontheLake Taupo Genesis Energy alsocontinued to work withwiderLake Taupo TDC andWRCimplement theErosion andFlood Strategy. Mighty River Power, KingCountryEnergy andTrust Power, to help with TDCandWRC,aspartoftheGenerators Collective including During thereporting periodGenesisEnergy continued to engage on Lake Taupo. and fundingmechanismsto address erosion andfloodingissues through 2007-09.The2009Strategy identifiesamonitoring regime and WRCLake Taupo Erosion andFlood Strategy development Genesis Energy contributed to theTaupo District Council(TDC) of Environmental Effects (GenesisPower Ltd,2000). on Lake Taupo seetheTongariro Power Development Assessment already inthelake. For afulldiscussion ontheimpactsofTPS the additionalwater could beofsomebenefitindilutingnutrients additional water ishigherthanthatwithinLake Taupo andassuch does contain nutrients,ithasbeenshown thatthequalityof of highwater levels onerosion. Althoughtheadditionalwater additional nutrientsbeingsuppliedto Lake Taupo andtheeffects the Eastern andWestern Diversions were thepotential impactof Other concerns raised inregards to theadditionalwater from generation timeoftheseorganisms, beingintheorder ofdays. phytoplankton orzooplankton levels inthelake dueto the reduce thelevel ofbiological production, butithasnotaffected water from theTPS.Ashorter residence timecan potentially approximately 13.5years to 10.6years asaresult oftheadditional The residence timefor water inLake Taupo hasreduced from 6.3.2 AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS ANDWATER QUALITY and erosion management;andbiosecurity. issues suchas:lake management planningandstrategy; flooding

37 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 38 TONGARIRO // 15 07 OUTCOMES SCHEME-WIDE Tuwharetoa representatives andwillserve athree year term. Charles Wall, HeemiBiddle andMariaNepiaare thecurrent Ngati year include: the Committee. Two ofthekey projects for theCommittee this During thereporting period,42projects were supported by Tuwharetoa GenesisEnergy Committee wasformed. To implement theobjectives oftheagreement, theNgati The key objectives oftheagreement are to: environmental andcultural issues raised byNgatiTuwharetoa. The purposeoftheagreement isto directly address the Maori Trust Board (onbehalfofngahapuoNgatiTuwharetoa). agreement reached between GenesisEnergy andtheTuwharetoa outcome from there-consenting oftheTPSin2000wasan The TPSsitswithintherohe ofNgatiTuwharetoa. Asignificant 7.1 NGATI TUWHARETOA –GENESISENERGY COMMITTEE disposal sites) andapubliccomplaints register. plans associated withspecificactivities(for example, run-offfrom development ofannualmaintenance schedules, management the scheme.Theconditions require, amongotherthings,the undertaken underapre-defined setof conditions, across granted, allowing allcommon maintenance activitiesto be basis, asuite ofscheme-wideresource consents hasbeen Rather thandealwithmaintenance activitiesonasite bysite consultative process include: basis for theTongariro Power Scheme(TPS).Key outcomes ofthe A numberofissues have beenaddressed onascheme-wide 07 SCHEME-WIDEOUTCOMES

Te Wai OTokaanu from NgaUrioTe Po kiTuwharetoa. This The KaitiakiPunawaiProject from theWaihi Kahakaharoa establish stronger communication andrelationship links undertake activitiesandpromote projects to facilitate the undertake activitiesandpromote projects to supportthe maximise theinvolvement ofNgatiTuwharetoa people inthe facilitate andpromote environmental/cultural projects Public Feedback. Dam safety; and A run-offmanagementplan; Maintenance activities; Volcanic ActivityManagementPlan(VAMP); Provision ofhydrology information; Central NorthIslandBlueDuckConservation Charitable Trust; An agreement between GenesisEnergy andtheTuwharetoa removing noxious plantsandweeds oneithersideofthestream. project is to restore andpreserve theTokaanu Stream by tributaries andthepapakainga. (seeFigure 27and28) through restoration offlora and fauna inandaround tributaries from source to lake andimproving taonga species papakainga, creating acultural healthindex for Turumakina recreational andswimming areas inandaround Waihi focuses onthree key workstreams whichinclude;improved Maori Reservation Trust (Waihi Marae Trust). Thisproject between GenesisEnergy andNgatiTuwharetoa. education, healthandwell-being ofNgatiTuwharetoa; and kaitiaki role ofNgatiTuwharetoa generally; monitoring activitiesundertaken byGenesisEnergy; involving waterways influenced bytheTPSandadjacent lands; Maori Trust Board;

pairs intheSecurity Site hasdecreased slightly from 114pairs with 185ducklingssurvivingthrough to fledge.The numberof breeding seasononrecord, withatotal of218 ducklingsrecorded The Tongariro Forest SecuritySite reported themost successful addition to this,17captive breed whiowere released. season with42ducklingsobserved, ofwhichatleast 25 fledged.In Productivity rates were similarto last year’s record breaking Mt Taranaki Recovery Site, witharecord 33pairs ofwhiolocated. DOC Projects in Table 16. The success oftheprojects supported bytheTrust isoutlined period. Key Trust projects (managedbyDOC) for 2013-18are: 2013 whichoutlinesitsmajorfundinginitiatives for thereporting The Trust approved itsthird five year strategic plan(2013-18)in populations andtheirhabitat, inparticularto: in 2002.TheTrust aimsto enhance, protect andpromote whio North IslandBlueDuckConservation Charitable Trust wasformed effects oftheTPSonblueduck(whio).Asaresult, theCentral Forest andBird Protection Societyreached agreement to mitigate Genesis Energy, DepartmentofConservation (DOC)andtheRoyal CONSERVATION CHARITABLE TRUST 7.2 CENTRALNORTHISLANDBLUE DUCK plant weed eradication andriparianplantingfor Te MimioTe Oinga. FIGURE 27&28//TheKaitiakiPunawaiproject before andafter

Securing 50pairs ofwhioattheMtTaranaki Recovery Site. Securing andmaintaining 50pairs ofwhioonthe Securing andmaintaining 50pairs ofwhioonrivers in inform andeducate thegeneral publicaboutthework of enhance existing whiopopulationsbyprioritisingaquatic create new self-sustaining whiopopulationsinappropriate Manganui-o-te-Ao River SecuritySite; and Tongariro Forest SecuritySite; the Trust. catchments affected bytheTPS;and indigenous ecosystems andthreatened species within locations -notnecessarily limited to theTPSregion; Akey highlightisanotherfantastic season atthe

39 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 40 TONGARIRO // 15 required to have community support. in thecentral NorthIslandandsurrounding districts. Projects are individuals orcommunity groups thatsupporttherecovery ofwhio contestable fundwasavailable to projects from interested projects aimedatprotecting existing whiopopulations.A its initiative to distribute fundsacross awiderrange ofcommunity Community Projects population to bounce backfrom thecurrent low numbers. trapping effort, recruitment withinthesecuritysite willallow this of fledglings continues to increase alongside theincreased been significantly intensified. Itis predicted thatasthenumber to thecontinued declineofwhiopairs atthissite, trapping has ducklings hatching andanestimated 17fledging.In response protected), arecovery from theprevious year has begun,with29 Ao -Retaruke SecuritySite hascontinued to decline(22pairs While thenumberofwhioprotected withintheManganui ote per kilometre onthe35kmofriver protected bytraps. carrying capacities isto beexpected. Thisgives atotal of3.1pairs last seasonto 109pairs thisseason.Thisvariance atsuchhigh Contestable Fund 2015. (2013- 18). Mt Taranaki Recovery Site Security Site (2013-18). Retaruke-Manganui-o-te-Ao Rivers) (2013-18). Mangatepopo andWhakapapa Site (includingWhanganui, Tongariro Forest Security Project TABLE 16// Central NorthIslandBlueDuckConservation Charitable Trust result areas duringthereporting period. Thisyear theTrust continued to implement Objective

Mt Taranaki. population withaminimumof50pairs on project to create aself-sustaining whio Support theDepartmentofConservation’s intensive monitoring. Focus: predator control management and population of50pairs ofwhio. proposal to secure andmaintain aminimum Support theDepartmentofConservation’s intensive monitoring. Focus: predator control management and of whio. proposal to secure andmaintain 50pairs Support theDepartmentofConservation’s North Islandandsurrounding districts. protection oftheirhabitat intheCentral work towards therecovery ofwhioand Support Community-driven projects that wild andcaptive-bred whio. techniques andtechniques for translocating of thepopulationandrefining pest control Focus: integrated pest control, monitoring

Poutu Intake WRC103875(9) Rangipo DamWRC103867(9) Whakapapa Intake MWRC101282(11) Moawhango DamDischarge MWRC101280(11) updated routinely viatheTokaanu flow phone,(07)3868113. Members ofthepubliccan alsoobtain hydrological information smartphone. public viatelephone andtheinternet viaapersonal computer or near real time.Aselection ofthisdata isfreely available to the water qualitydata iscollected inreal-time andtelemetered around theTPS.Avariety offlow, water level, rainfall and Genesis Energy hasanextensive hydrology monitoring network 7.3 PUBLICLY AVAILABLE HYDROLOGY INFORMATION the reporting periodare outlinedinTable 16. were able to befundedinwhole, orinpart.Projects fundedduring The Trust ispleased to report thatallfour applications received Result Areas (14/15) Contestable Fund Recipients(14/15)

refurbished A24traps. 35km ofriver protected withupgraded DOC200traps and 1080 aerialdrop. Predator Control: along theMaramataha River. assist withrepairs, replacement andadditionsto trap numbers NZ Deerstalkers Association (Te Awamutu): whio survey on theOhuituandWaiokotore Streams. Aorangi Awarua Trust: . implementing theirWhiorecovery programme ontheupper Black Fern Lodge: Tauranga-Taupo River. Ecological Solutions: at least 25survivingto fledge. Productivity rates were also high with 42 ducklings observed with A record numberofpairs (33)were located attheSite. Population: Trap replacement andmaintenance isongoing. Predator Control: ducklings hatching andanestimated 17fledging. protected), arecovery from theprevious year hasbegun,with29 While thepopulationhascontinued to decline(22pairs Monitoring: 71km ofriver protected Timms traps (to target cats) and200additionalDOCtraps. Trapping hasbeensignificantly intensified, withtheadditionof70 Predator Control: recorded with185survivingthrough to fledge. succesgul breeding seasonever -atotal of215ducklings drop andtrap replacement programme culminated inthemost Mild weather duringthespringmonthscoupled witha1080 very highat3.1pairs per kilometre. 109 pairs (adecrease of5pairs from last year). Pair densityis Monitoring:

www.genesisenergy.co.nz/rivers-lakes-rainfall

Funding received to helpcontinue Funding received to restore Whioonthe

Funding received for pest control anda .

Funding received to

as highlighted bytheTe MaariCrater onMountTongariro in2012. incorporate thewider central NorthIslandVolcanic Zonehazards The VAMP wasrevised duringthe2012/13reporting periodto pre-existing sensors isprovided to ERLAWS. This information, together withinformation from GenesisEnergy’s early warningofanevent thataffects theTongariro Catchment. on theWaikato Stream andtheMangatoetoenui Stream to provide Genesis Energy hasalsoestablished furtherearly warningsites response plansinto action. this information isautomatically sentto key agenciesto puttheir a baselocated attheTokaanu Power Station. Once atthebase sensors located nearthecrater rimonMountRuapehu,backto available to transport early warninginformation from remote ERLAWS andhasmadeitsextensive communications network Genesis Energy hasactively participated inthedevelopment of Ruapehu LaharAlarmandWarning System (ERLAWS). an emergency response plan,commonly known astheEastern closely withstakeholders inthecentral NorthIslandto develop During thedevelopment oftheVAMP, GenesisEnergy worked Key agenciesinvolved withthedevelopment oftheplanwere: reviewed inJune2013and2014 organisations. TheVAMP wasadopted inSeptember 2006and instrumentation andhow thecompany willinteract withother monitoring instruments, how GenesisEnergy willrespond to this volcanic event. Theplansetsoutwhere GenesisEnergy has Genesis Energy willoperate priorto, duringandafter a The Volcanic ActivityManagementPlan(VAMP) defineshow 7.4 VOLCANIC ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT PLAN(VAMP) constructed in2004/05.Theseworks were constructed to protect of sites along thesouthernshoreline, themajorityofwhichwere Erosion protection measures have beenconstructed atanumber Section 3.2.2.). process to monitor andmanage erosion where appropriate (see Energy andtheNew ZealandDefence Force (NZDF)setsouta prevailing northwest wind.Anagreement between Genesis particularly around thesouthernshore thatisexposed to the has beenobserved since initialimpoundmentofLake Moawhango, Lake MoawhangoErosion Protection Repairs undertaken around theTPSduringreporting period: A numberofotherlarger plantmaintenance projects were also Abrasive Blasting WRC103898(9) Maintenance ActivityDischarges WRC103897 Maintenance ofStructures WRC103887(26) Abrasive Blasting MWRC101303(8) Maintenance ActivityDischarges MWRC101302 Maintenance ofStructures MWRC101296(25) Wanganui andWaikato regions, respectively. maintenance activitiesandrelated discharges intheManawatu/ Tables 17and18describethescheduled andunscheduled 7.5 MAINTENANCEACTIVITIES Whakapapa Intake MWRC101282/1(12) Discharge to MangaioStream MWRC101277(8) detection equipmentisoperating inaccordance withtheVAMP. During thereporting period,regular tests were undertaken to ensure systems throughout theTPSalsocontinues aspartoftheVAMP. measurements to betaken. Routinetesting oflaharprotection addition, three handheldmonitors were purchased to enable spot sites at:WhanganuiIntake, Poutu DamandTokaanu Intake. In manage thekey risksincludingthree continuous monitoring New monitoring sites andinfrastructure were incorporated to

New ZealandDefence Force. Ruapehu District Council;and Taupo District Council; Department ofConservation; Waikato RegionalCouncil; Manawatu Wanganui RegionalCouncil;

Shoreline erosion

portion willbecarried outinsummer2016. snow forced theproject to besuspendedover winter. Thesouth portion wasalmost completed whenseveral heavyrain events and 2015 to address theNorthandSouthofSaddle Bay. Thenorth for erosion through thelow saddle. Work gotunderwayinearly face to theaccess track, thespeedoferosion andthepotential have thehighest prioritybecause oftheproximity oftheerosion southeast corner. Ofthese,theareas around Saddle Bayshould Bay, northandsouthofSaddle Bay,therightabutmentand access road. Five areas have beenidentified;southofBoatRamp require additionalprotection measures inorder to maintain the Recent areas oferosion around thesouthernshoreline now proved to beeffective inreducing shoreline erosion (Figure 29). south ofSaddle Bay. Thegabionbaskets andreno mattresses have geotextile mattingwere usedasalow cost alternative inanarea bound riprap hasalsobeenused. Most recently geobagsand gabion basket wallswith‘reno mattresses’ atthetoe, although of MoawhangoDam.Theprotection works are predominantly the access road andto prevent erosion ofthelow saddle just west almost $2million. weeks between September andDecember 2014andcosting one, requiring eachgenerator to beoutofservice for upto two that allows itto generate electricity. Theproject wasasignificant The excitation system creates themagnetismwithingenerator Power Station generators were upgraded withmodernsystems. period, the1970’s vintage excitation systems onthefour Tokaanu Tokaanu Excitation Replacement Project planned for later in2015. Tokaanu Power Station Emergency access road. Theseworks are Whanganui Intake; theTokaanu Penstock Slope drains; andthe Diversion water over theWhanganuiRiver downstream ofthe Intake; the WhanganuiPipeBridgethatcarries theWestern Footbridge flow monitoring site downstream oftheWhakapapa period. Theseincluded:theaccess road to theWhakapapa projects around theTPSwasundertaken duringthereporting Drainage Projects without nesting. seasons. Thecolony waspersistent buteventually moved on attempt to avoid theaggression andmess thatresulted inprevious bird spikes andwires onroosting areas, were allinstalled inan Motion activated water sprayers; bird scare audio;aswell as of new devices were trialled to discourage thecolony establishing. control methodsthatmighthave anypopulationimpactsoarange season. Thespeciesislisted as‘nationally critical’, whichlimits 2013/14 triedto re-establish theircolony againfor the2014/15 nested ontheTokaanu Power Station stores buildingduring Tokaanu Stores GullColony FIGURE 29//Renomattress construction, Autumn2015. Planning for anumberofdrainage upgrade The black-billed gullcolony that During thereporting

41 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 42 TONGARIRO // 15 Rotoaira to beusedfor traditional carving (Figure 31). Wanikau, thetree wasfelled andtransported to Oputaka atLake Following akarakia from NgatiHikairo KaumatuaTe Ngahe threatening to fall onto theroad attheford andblock access. large Totara tree became unstable attheMangatepopo Intake, Totara LogRemoved from Mangatepopo to thesite. implications andremedial actionsto managetheslipandaccess incidents are natural events andGenesisEnergy isconsidering the this slipreactivated taking outthefence neartheintake. These base to reduce riskto people andplant.However, inJune2015 and below theslipto managewater flow; anda fence builtatits (see Figure 30).Thisslipwascleared; drains openedupabove 2014, afurtherslipcame down attheIntake, closing offaccess downstream andopposite theMangatepopo Intake. DuringJuly of rainfall, alarge slipcame down intheMangatepopo Gorge, just Mangatepopo Slip Area There wasnounscheduled abrasive blasting inthe Manawatu/Wanganui Region Unscheduled Abrasive Blasting There wasnoscheduled abrasive blasting inthe Manawatu /Wanganui Region Scheduled Abrasive Blasting -MWRC101303(8) Slip Debris Volcanic Eruptions Unscheduled Maintenance Activities Access Roads Wahianoa Aqueduct(Intake 21) Wahianoa Aqueduct(Intake 18) Wahianoa Aqueduct(Intake 10) Wahianoa Aqueduct(Intake 5) Wahianoa Aqueduct(Intake 4) Wahianoa Aqueduct(Intake 21) Wahianoa Aqueduct(Intake 118) Scheduled Maintenance Activities -MWRC101296(25) FIGURE 30//Afurtherlarge slipattheMangatepopo Intake. TABLE 17// Tongariro Power Schememaintenance activitiesanddischarges intheManawatuWanganui Regionduringthereporting period. Inlate June2014following asustained period Removal ofash/lahardebris Removal ofslip debris In March 2015,a RoutineMaintenance gravel/silt removal gravel/silt removal gravel/silt removal gravel/silt removal gravel/silt removal gravel/silt removal gravel/silt removal Description possible. Thisincrease in“water to wire” efficiency has resulted requirements of each power station inthemost efficientway to develop software thatautomatically delivers thegeneration knowledge ofthe most efficientrunning ranges ofeachgenerator, Station generators thisreporting period. Theproject used gains were madeonthetwo Rangipoandfour Tokaanu Power Generation EfficiencyProject clearance onthe33kVlinefrom Tokaanu to MoawhangoDam. also usedtheoutage to undertake maintenance andvegetation from theWahianoa Aqueductduringtheoutage. GenesisEnergy long outage. TheMangaioTunnel continued to divert water period. Gearboxes were removed andreplaced duringthemonth Power Station by-pass valve wasundertaken duringthereporting Mangaio By-pass Valve Replacement more efficientmanner. months willenable thehydro generation assets to beoperated ina software to allGenesisEnergy hydro power stations inthecoming in significant efficiencygainsatboth stations. Rolloutofthe to Oputaka for usebyNgatiHikairo for carving. FIGURE 31//Alarge Totara tree istransported from Mangatepopo Notrequired Notrequired 22/5/15 22/5/15 22/5/15 22/5/15 22/5/15 various 7/8/14 6/8/14 Date minordrain clearance Quantity Significant generation efficiency 140m³ 192m³ 112m³ 300m³ 60m³ 98m³ 50m³ n/a n/a An overhaul oftheMangaio Stockpiled atIntake Stockpiled atIntake Stockpiled atIntake Stockpiled atIntake Stockpiled atIntake Stockpiled atIntake Stockpiled atIntake DisposalSite onsite n/a n/a hydraulic structures oftheTPS. provide thecurrent framework for managingandmonitoring the published bytheNew ZealandSocietyonLarge Dams(NZSOLD) Construction andSafety. TheDamSafety Guidelines(2015) The BuildingActcontains extensive provisions for Dam 7.7 DAM SAFETY disposal, are shown inTables 17and18(seeSection7.5). and structures duringthereporting period,andthemeansof schedule, therespective volumes ofmaterial cleared from intakes In accordance withthePlanandresulting annualmaintenance problems along theWahianoa Aqueduct. Island on20June2015inparticular,caused significant sediment the TPS.Therain storm thathitthelower andcentral North sediment, weed anddebristhatisregularly removed from around The Run-offManagementPlanincludesanindicative list of any relevant new operational issues arise. (WRC) andMWRC.ThePlanwillbereviewed againin2016oras reporting periodandwassignedoffbyWaikato RegionalCouncil The Run-offManagementPlanwasreviewed duringthe2014 Maintenance ActivityDischarge WRC103897(11) Maintenance ActivityDischarge MWRC101302(10) of allmaterial removed. is required to besubmitted to councils annually. Records are kept the methodsadopted to achieve compliance. Amaintenance plan plan describeshow thedepositionactivitieswillbemanagedand material from, oradjacent to, watercourses ofthescheme.The associated withtheremoval ofsediment,weed, debrisorother consents whichpermitthedischarge ofmaterials onto orinto land the Tongariro Power Scheme.Theplanisrequired byresource Genesis Energy hasdeveloped aRun-offManagementPlanfor 7.6 RUN-OFFMANAGEMENT PLAN Tokaanu Power Station Discharge WRC103884(4) Rangipo Power Station Discharge WRC103870(4) Waihohonu Tunnel Discharge WRC103866(2) Moawhango Tunnel Discharge WRC103863(3) the reporting period: actions atthesites authorisedbythefollowing consents, during Erosion Control There wasnounscheduled abrasive blasting intheWaikato Region Unscheduled Abrasive Blasting There wasnounscheduled abrasive blasting inthe Waikato Region Scheduled Abrasive Blasting –EW103898(9) Slip Debris Volcanic Eruptions Unscheduled Maintenance Activities Tokaanu Intake Tokaanu Intake Access Roads Wairehu Canal Poutu Dam Poutu Intake Rangipo Dam Scheduled Maintenance Activities -EW103887(26) Area TABLE 18// Tongariro Power Schememaintenance activitiesanddischarges intheWaikato Regionduringthereporting period. There wasnorequirement for anyerosion control

Debrisremoval (Puketarata Culvert) Debris/pumice/gravel/silt removal Removal ofweed from intake Removal ofweed from intake Removal ofweed from intake Removal ofash/lahardebris Debris/gravel/silt removal Removal ofslipdebris RoutineMaintenance

Description

screens Weekly (Dec-June) 2000 (because theinspectionwascarried outpriorto the 2015 carried outinaccordance withtheNZSOLDDamSafety Guidelines During thereporting period,anAnnualDamSafety Review was NZSOLD (2015)DamSafety Guidelines. RMA. Inthemeantime,GenesisEnergy willcontinue to apply the Government departmentsto progress bringingdamsafety into the 2015. There iscurrently noindication ofawork programme for Regulations 2008have beenrevoked witheffect from 30June rather thantheBuildingAct.Assuch,(DamSafety) to beingmanagedundertheResource ManagementAct(RMA) The Government hasnow decidedthatdamsafety isbetter suited has beendelayed onanumberofoccasions over recent years. Government’s DamSafety SchemeundertheBuildingAct(2004) The introduction ofnew damsafety Regulationsto implement the Safety Guidelines. accordance withtherecommendations of the NZSOLD(2015)Dam civil, mechanical andelectrical engineeringexperts, againin the dams’ Potential ImpactCategory andinvolves independent appurtenant structures iscarried outatintervals basedon A Comprehensive Safety Review (CSR)ofthedamsandassociated Review reports are available onrequest. Safety Guidelines.CopiesoftheMonthly andAnnualDamSafety professional engineers assuggested bytheNZSOLD(2015)Dam An AnnualDamSafety Review iscarried outbyspecialist which isinternally reviewed byanengineer. and provides GenesisEnergy withamonthly damsafety report, locations. Anexperienced professional engineerreviews thedata assets are inspected anddata iscollected atanumberof inspections atpre-determined intervals. Onamonthly basis, Dam safety surveillance involves routine monitoring and preparedness procedures are reviewed every two years. exercises are undertaken, spillkitschecked monthly andresponse Power Stations andkey intake structures. Regularstaff training kits are situated atstrategic locations atTokaanu andRangipo compliant with statutory requirements. Comprehensive oilspill All oilstorage areas atGenesisEnergy sites are bundedand 7.8 OILSPILLRESPONSE Whaiau DamandWairehu Control Structure. Poutu Intake, Poutu Canal,Poutu Dam,Otamangakau Dam,Te guidelines beingreleased) atMoawhangoDam,Rangipo NotRequired NotRequired NotRequired NotRequired May-15 May-15 various Aug-14 Date: Total of120m³fresh weed minordrain clearance 230m³decaying weed 60m³decaying weed 1large log Quantity n/a n/a n/a n/a Tongariro PrisonGardens Tongariro PrisonGardens (Section 52Permit held) (Section 52Permit held) Released downstream Forestry landnext to DisposalSite: screens onsite n/a n/a n/a n/a

43 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 44 TONGARIRO // 15 WRC to operate andmaintain theTPS. Priority 2status. GenesisEnergy holds19consents granted by priority 2sites are audited eachyear. TheTPShasbeenassigned compliance audit for every Priority1site, while atleast 75%ofall effort. Accordingly, theWRCisrequired to undertake anannual The purpose of the priority ranking is to direct the WRC monitoring or stable effects. effects ontheenvironment, and4beingsites withvery minorand/ ranging from 1to 4,with1beingthehighest ormost likely to have have ontheenvironment. Sites are assigned apriorityranking including thescale ofactivityandthelikely effect the site may region thatholdresource consents, basedonavariety offactors WRC hasdeveloped asystem ofranking allsites withinits 7.10 WAIKATO REGIONALCOUNCILAUDIT period, andtheactionstaken to address theissues raised. Table 19details thefour publiccomplaints received for thereporting to action. relevant recommendations. Theseare sentto appropriate staff Management System. Complaintsare documented along with Genesis Energy records allpubliccomplaints viaanEvent 7.9 PUBLICCOMPLAINTS generation assets). are relevant to otherTPSassets (andwiderGenesisEnergy hydro map for reference, many of its practices and equipment references Although site-specific witha Tokaanu station stormwater drainage which theTPSspillresponse preparedness can beenhanced. comprehensive documenthasbeenusedasabenchmarkfrom Station were reviewed duringthe2014/15reporting period.This reporting period.OilSpillResponseprocedures atTokaanu Power No oilspillemergencies occurred withintheTPSduring Genesis Web Site. Lake Otamangakau. Whakapapa River. Tongariro River. Location TABLE 19// Public complaints duringthereporting period. on hydrology. Poor information ontheweb site Potholes onroad atLake Otamangakau. recreational users atrisk. Rapidly risingwater levels, putting recreational users atrisk. Rapidly risingwater levels, putting Complaint

Energy ispleased withthisresult andongoingcommunication rating of‘Comply -Full’ for the2013/14reporting period.Genesis TPS consent compliance. MWRCassigned theTPSanoverall This isthefourth fullreview thatMWRChasundertaken onthe as partoftheassessment –comply ordoesnotcomply. and site inspectioncompliance reports). There are two categories includes data assessment suchasquarterly andannualreports, Horizons willinspecttheSchemeupto four timesperyear (this The TPShasbeenassigned aCategory 2status andtherefore The TPSisprioritisedbasedonthefollowing criteria: and maintain theTPS. Genesis Energy holds31consents granted byMWRCto operate Programme, whichincludehydro-electricity operations. a system ofcategorising thosesites thatare withintheIndustry Manawatu Wanganui RegionalCouncil(‘Horizons’) hasdeveloped 7.11 MANAWATU WANGANUI REGIONALCOUNCILAUDIT the WRCwithrespect to theaudit. Genesis Energy appreciates theconsultative approach taken by consent condition wording with the WRC, and to improve reporting. also reflects thesignificant amountof workundertaken toclarify environmental responsibility andresource consent compliance. It is pleased withthisresult, whichreflects theemphasisplaced on that thesite achieved thevery top ofthiscategory. GenesisEnergy 2013/14 reporting periodwithparticularcomment from officers The WRCassigned theTPSa‘highlevel ofcompliance’ for the compliance ona large andcomplex operation. once againmade ofGenesisEnergy’s highperformance inRMA and feedback onresource consent compliance. Specialnote was

directly updated to thewebsite. The technical issue hasbeenresolved withhydrology data now This caused thewebsite to display outdated hydrology information. Hydrology data failed to update onthewebsite dueatechnical issue. inches indiameter. Pothole repaired. Inspected Otamangakau Roadandfound onepothole approx 10 occurence resulted from theflashynature ofthe catchment. complainant, explaining thattherisingwater level wasanatural not GenesisEnergy’s activities.Aresponse wasprovided to the This complaint relates to highflows from anatural flood event, nature ofrivers inthecentral NorthIsland. sent to key stakeholders reminding river users oftherapidly-rising the memberofpublicwhoraised thiscomplaint, andaletter was Genesis Energy’s activities.Hydrology information wasprovided to This complaint relates to highflows from anatural flood event, not Corrective Action Compliance History. The profile ofthesite; and The actualandpotential environmental effects oftheactivity; The nature andscale oftheactivity;

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY & INITIATIVES

08 45 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 46 TONGARIRO // 15 to predation. before beingreleased into thewildwhere they are less susceptible enables ducklingsto develop theirwhitewater andforaging skills a significant milestone duringthe year (Figure 32).The facility facility attheTongariro NationalTrout Centre inTurangi was facilities nationwide.Theconstruction andopeningofahardening funding supportingcaptive breeding sites andducklingrearing The WhioNest Eggproject (WHIONE)continues to progress with allowing better integration of whio managementnationally. access to critical whiodata from protection sites across thecountry, information from protection sites. Thishasallowed openpublic of data loggers andanationaldatabase to capture whiorelated Population managementcontinues to beimproved withthe in 15years. management beganandClinton/ Arthurhaditsthird best season Wangapeka/ Fyfe reports itsmost productive seasonsince three securitysites; Tongariro hashadarecord 218ducklings, (BFOB) 1080operations andthishasled to exceptional years at Eight sites received aboost through “Battle for ourBirds” being installed for the2015/16breeding season. upgrade to thetrap network hasbeenplannedandiscurrently the trap network atthissite isnolonger effective (Table 20).An security site, Manganui/Retaruke hascontinued to decline,as to goodnumbers ofducklingsthisseason.Unfortunately one manage stoats andotherpredators. Most sites reported average focus with17whioprotection sites receiving supportto better Management Plan.Investment inpredator control hasbeenakey Energy andDOCworking together to implement theWhioForever During thelast year significant work hasbeenachieved byGenesis Programme thereby securingthefuture ofwhio. over five years to fully implement theNationalWhioRecovery 2011 inWellington. Theagreement commits, infull,$2.5million subsequently signedbyDOCandGenesisEnergy on31August sponsor ofwhio.TheWhioForever Investment Agreement was DOC’s NationalWhioRecovery Group to become thecorporate In 2010,GenesisEnergy received anexclusive invitation from 8.1 WHIOFOREVER 8.0 COMMUNITYANDENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES Total Genesis Energy funding) Styx/Arahura (SolidEnergy and Genesis Energy funding) Oparara/Ugly (SolidEnergy and Clinton/Arthur Wangapeka Manganui/Retaruke Tongariro Forest Whirinaki Te Urewera Security Sites TABLE 20// Whiopairs protected ateightsecuritysites since thestart oftheWhioInvestment Agreement in2011. Pairs 2011/12 206 10 20 40 20 51 43 15 7 use use Pairs 2012/13 8.1.1 SPONSORSHIPFOR LOWER TONGARIRO COMMUNITY to drive traffic to theWhio Forever website displays, press releases andanabove-the-line marketing campaign During themonthotherinitiatives were runincludingvisitor centre advertising campaign andtheWhioFamily weekend atAucklandZoo. to raise awareness ofthestatus ofthewhiothrough anational In addition,theWhioAwareness campaign inMarch 2015worked River ecosystem enjoyed bylarge sectors ofthecommunity. and that whio are now a well-established part of the lower Tongariro notes thattheprogramme continues to make significant progress Energy contribution wasmadein2014/15,however, GenesisEnergy The 2013/14seasonwasthefifthandfinalsurvey. NoGenesis is New Zealand’s only “urban”whiopopulation. Charitable Trust andisaimedatincreasing whionumbers inwhat The programme isundertaken bytheTongariro BlueDuckProject river subjectto acommunity basedpredator trapping programme. the lower Tongariro River for thefirst five years onthatpartofthe Conservation Charitable Trust, supported annualwhiosurveys on Genesis Energy, together withtheCentral NorthIslandBlueDuck BLUE DUCKPROJECT Hardening Facility attheTongariro NationalTrout Centre inTurangi. Executive AlbertBrantley releasing whioattheopeningofWhio TNTCS, TheHonourable MaggieBarry,andGenesisEnergy’s Chief FIGURE 32//Representatives ofDOC,NgatiTuwharetoa andthe 302 114 13 34 38 37 16 21 29 Pairs 2014/15 308 109 30 32 41 30 22 23 21 Increase inpairs over term of www.whioforever.co.nz Genesis Energy funding

102 -29 20 12 10 66 14 1 8 the country to focus onNew Zealand’s native fishandthethreats aquarium isauniqueresource, beingtheonly publicaquariumin for Tomorrow education programme runattheTrout Centre. The tourists, andisproving to beanintegral component oftheTaupo Freshwater Aquariumhascontinued to attract local andoverseas Genesis Energy Freshwater Aquarium an important partinthewhiocaptive breeding programme. as a‘retirement home’ for someoftheolderbirds thathave played National Park. Plans are also underway for the facility to be utilised into theTongariro andWhanganuicatchments aswell asEgmont reporting period,whiofrom thehardening facility were released white water skillsbefore they are released into thewild.During birds from thewhio captive breeding programme to develop their stream bed.Thefacility provides asafe environment for young flowing river complete with rocks andgravel to mimicanatural facility involved conversion ofatrout raceway into astretch offast December 2014(seeFigures 32and33).Construction ofthe A celebration to marktheopeningoffacility washeldon4th of thenew whiohardening facility attheTNTC wascompleted. Whio Hardening Facility period include: period. Highlights and updates from the TNTC during the reporting The TNTC hashadanothersuccessful year duringthereporting programme, Taupo for Tomorrow, waslaunchedin2005. resource accessible to thepublicandschoolgroups. Theeducation at theTNTC, alongside theTongariro River, afantastic educational Tongariro NationalTrout Centre (TNTC). Thepartnership issituated for administration supportandsite development projects atthe was agreed. Funding includestheeducation programme, funding and extended for 5years andin2013afurther3year extension Society (thesociety).In2009theagreement wasrenegotiated Genesis Energy, DOCandtheTongariro NationalTrout Centre In 2004anexciting education partnership wasformed between exist. TheTNTC wasaprimelocation for suchapartnership. to share information onhow multiple resource users could co- an opportunityto work alongside DOCandotherkey stakeholders resource for recreation intheTaupo region. GenesisEnergy saw The Tongariro River isakey component oftheTPS,anakey 8.2 TONGARIRO NATIONAL TROUTCENTRE FIGURE 33//TheWhioHardening Facility. Duringthereporting period,construction TheGenesisEnergy trout inthevery samepool. the young fishermen,give vivid recollections of catching theirfirst Often mumordad,even granddad orgrandma, whoaccompany volunteers whoenjoy passing ontheirskillsto theyoungsters. All ‘KidsFishout’activitiesare supported byakeen group of held duringschoolholidaysandlong weekends (seeFigure 34). the Education Programme orononeoftheregular ‘KidsFishouts’ landing atrout (often theirfirst) aspartoftheirschoolvisitwith Children’s FishingDays behind theintroduction ofrainbow trout into theTaupo region. panels inthesamegallery provide illustrative details ofthehistory played asignificant partinthedevelopment ofthefishery. New telling thestory ofmanythe‘Pioneers’ wholived inthearea and Visitor’s Centre thisyear includeadisplayintheSargood Gallery in-stream ecology, andpower generation. New additionsto the water, includingthatofrecreation, fisheries,mauri(life force), display, whichhighlightsthevariety ofvalues people place on fishery. TheVisitor’s Centre includesaninteractive GenesisEnergy appropriately to sustain thisworld-class trout andendemic Fishery, andtheimportance ofmanagingourwater resources telling acomprehensive story ofthecentral NorthIsland’s Trout Museum andLibrary addsavital component to theTNTC, Museum andLibrary visitor experiences byredesigning fish tanks anddisplays. popular withvisitors. Trout centre staff have worked to improve mud orunderobjectsintheirtank. Feeding timeisparticularly discovering thebrown mudfishwhichoften burythemselves inthe native kokopu andbullies,interacting withthenative eelsand delight inlooking undertherocks andlogs for theaquariums to ourfreshwater ecosystems. Schoolchildren andfamilies ideas andwhatthey meanto usasindividuals andcommunities. Taupo for Tomorrow staff work hard to asklearners to explore these connected’ are threaded through allprogrammes offered andthe at thesite. Bigideaslike ‘striking abalance’ and ‘everything is to accommodate thevisionandlearning needsofthepartners All programmes onoffer are grounded bysomebigideasdesigned needs to becarefully monitored and cared for into thefuture. They are asked to view fresh water asan‘essential service’ that fishery, butalsoinmeetingtheenergy needsofNew Zealanders. of ways,notleast recreationally through our world famous trout encouraged to recognise that fresh water sustains usinamultitude needs ofournation.Interms of‘big picture’ learning, students are to recognise how important ourrivers are inmeetingtheenergy to theirpersonal lives inarecreational andcultural sense,butalso appreciation ofwhatfresh water andthespecies thatlive initbring Taupo for Tomorrow endeavours to assist students inwideningtheir 8.2.1 TAUPO FOR TOMORROW EDUCATION PROGRAMME showing KatieLawrence how to fly-fishintheKidsFishingPond. FIGURE 34//Mike Nicholson(Taupo for Tomorrow Educator) TheVisitor’s Centre, includingthe Children can enjoy thechallenge of

47 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 48 TONGARIRO // 15

Taupo for Tomorrow Highlights: visiting thisyear were from secondary ortertiary providers. 65 schoolsandlearning institutions. Pleasingly, 30%ofschools opportunities. Thisnumberwasmadeupof117groups from programme, participatinginarange ofprogrammes andlearning During thereporting period,2717students visited the Trout Centre andoff-site atvarious otherlocations andschools. its role asan essential service, bothonsite attheTongariro National students to develop theirthinkingandlearning aboutfreshwater and Taupo for Tomorrow hasenjoyed anotherbusyyear assisting

Genesis Energy Freshwater Aquariumissignificant asit with theneedsofecology. hydroelectric generation that rely ontheriver, are balanced and how theneedsofindustries suchastourism and investigate therelationship between business andfreshwater, business offreshwater –inthatthey are challenged to also learn aboutthreats to ourfreshwater resources andthe freshwater scientists andfreshwater fisherymanagers. They During thefieldtrip,online learners get to linkwith and values surrounding freshwater inthecentral region. This fieldtriponce againaimed to tell the story oftheuses LEARNZ part oftheTongariro Power Scheme. iwi are inextricably connected to andGenesisEnergy useas on streams runningfrom theflanksofMtRuapehuthat local . Thisyear students completed invertebrate surveys presence atthis year’s ‘KiwiForever’ programme in Kiwi Forever the Wonderful Wai programme thisyear. Thirteen classes from our local region choose to participate in National Trout Centre, in classrooms at their schools and on-line. As such,we are able to supporttheselearners onsite atthe values surrounding themaskey concepts for learning. local schoolsusingtheirspecialfreshwater areas andthe This programme hasalocal focus, inthatitistargeted at mainstays oflearning attheTaupo for Tomorrow programme. Wonderful Wai the threats they poseto ourfreshwater resources. the needto beaware aboutpest fishandaquaticplants species, theincredible journey oftuna(long fineels),and and engagedwhenthey understand more aboutwhitebait for themthemselves inthefuture. Manystudents are amazed fish andinturnitishopedthatthey willbecome advocates encourages learners to engagewithournative freshwater Genesis Energy Freshwater Aquarium having whioonsite, atthewhiohardening facility. programmes like ‘Fantastic Whio’have benefited hugely from ideas suchas‘striking abalance’. Existing Taupo for Tomorrow about fresh water ecology, resource use,and ‘deep’learning an excellent engagementtool whenaskinglearners to think entertaining freshwater indicator speciesandassuchmake Fantastic Whio A Freshwater Ecology fieldtripwasheldinJuly 2014. Taupo for Tomorrow again had asignificant Whioare anextremely interesting and Wonderful Wai continues to beoneofthe Therole ofthe

respective schoolsandcommunities (Figure 35). are now ambassadors for conservation andresource useintheir knowledge andexperience intheirweek atTirorangi Marae, and participated inthisyears programme gainedahugeamountof students duringtheweek-long programme andthestudents who the TPS.GenesisEnergy staff were involved inpresenting to – allkey themesofenvironmental managementinandround whio conservation, healthywaters, and‘striking thebalance’ 2014 thefocus oftheprogramme wasextended to include is thethird year thatGenesisEnergy hasbeeninvolved. In 2015 marked the10year anniversary oftheprogramme, and Ngati Rangi,DOC,GenesisEnergy staff andotheragencies. Maori world view while experiencing field excursions eachdaywith staying atTirorangi Marae where they gainanappreciation ofthe Ngati RangiandGenesisEnergy. The20students spendaweek The programme isapartnership between Untouched World, DOC, environmental managementissues andtheNgatiRangiworld view. on conservation experience, while learning aboutinter-related school students inthecentral NorthIslandregion to gethands- The Kiwiforever programme provides auniqueopportunityfor high 8.3 KIWIFOREVER Programme, visit For more information abouttheTaupo for tomorrow learning around New Zealandfollow thefieldtrip. This year’s fieldtripsaw2587 students from 104classes from Boys and GirlsHighSchoolsinthird place. High Schoolsinsecond place (last year’s victors) andWhangarei Thames wasfollowed closely byNew Plymouth Boys andGirls lifted theGenesisEnergy trophy for thefirst time(Figure 36). After 15years oftrying,ThamesHigh Schooltook first place and an 18hourrogaine expedition and 53kmmultisportrace. skills, endurance, mental acumenandteamwork, culminatingin of outdoorchallenges. Thechallenges are designedto test outdoor racers from around New Zealand whobattle itoutinawidevariety This event attracts thevery best secondary schooladventure the Tongariro NationalPark. Genesis Energy HillaryChallenge atHillaryOutdoors, adjacent to one secondary schoolteam from Australia competed intheannual – 22May2015,eleven New Zealandsecondary school teams and Genesis Energy Secondary School HillaryChallenge (with afocus onNew Zealand’s youth). their visionofdeveloping potential through outdoor education Genesis Energy haspartnered withHillaryOutdoors to support Within theTPS,HillaryOutdoors isanimportant stakeholder. 8.4 HILLARYOUTDOORSSPONSORSHIP Whakapapanui Stream. FIGURE 35//Kiwiforever students aboutto release awhiointhe www.taupofortomorrow.co.nz Between 17 Group isoneofsixintheNorthIsland. pests atamore local level. TheCentral NorthIslandPartner that playacritical role inhelping to manage thethreat ofaquatic regional partnergroups formally established byMPIBiosecurity possible atanational level. GenesisEnergy alsocontributes to pest managementremains ascoordinated andeffective as attended various meetingsandworkshops to helpensure aquatic Pest LongTerm ManagementSteering Committee andhas Genesis Energy isinvolved atanationallevel intheMPIAquatic organisations include: the effects ofthoseaquaticweeds thatare already present. These prevent thespread ofaquaticpests intheNorth Islandandto limit Genesis Energy isworking withanumberoforganisations to help and theaquaticenvironments inwhichGenesisEnergy operates. the potential to seriously impactonGenesisEnergy’s operations aquatic weed speciessuchasHornwort andLagarosiphon, have Didymosphenia geminata (Didymo),together witharange ofother 8.5 AQUATIC BIOSECURITY more students next year. gained wassopositive, alloftheseschools have booked to take economic areas ofNew Zealand.Astheexperience thesestudents rating ofoneortwo, meaningthey are inthelowest socio- Wairoa College andHuntly College –allofwhichhave adecile Centre. These schoolswere Tongariro School,RuapehuCollege, to learn valuable life-skills attheHillaryOutdoors Tongariro from four schoolslocated nearourgeneration assets thechance the reporting period,GenesisEnergy fundinggave 85students participate inaweek-long outdooreducation programme. During Hillary Outdoors to enable students from low decile schoolsto Hillary Step page www.hillaryoutdoors.co.nz Hillary Challenge visittheHillaryChallenge website To findoutmore abouttheGenesisEnergy Secondary School (Photo: HillaryOutdoors). FIGURE 36//Thewinningteam from ThamesHighSchool

Local Tourism Industry. The Advocates for theTongariro River; and Whitewater New Zealand; Taupo District Council; Bay ofPlenty regional Council; Manawatu Wanganui Regional Council; Waikato RegionalCouncil; Lake Rotoaira Trust; Tuwharetoa MaoriTrust Board; Fish andGame; Department ofConservation; Ministry ofPrimaryIndustries (MPI)–Biosecurity; www.facebook.com/hillaryoutdoors The HillaryStep programme wasdeveloped by

, andtheHillaryOutdoors Facebook

.

Community HealthCentre, whichaddresses asignificant gapin Genesis Energy isproud to beamajorsponsoroftheTurangi town andcommunity continue to prosper. community, to provide supportinarange ofareas to ensure the feels asenseofsocialresponsibility, asanyothermemberofthe member oftheTurangi community. Itfollows thatthecompany Turangi andGenesisEnergy considers itselfto beasignificant The TPSisasignificant asset andemployer withinthe town of 8.6 TURANGICOMMUNITYHEALTH CENTRE reporting period. the Lake Rotoaira Motor Campwere alsomaintained duringthe Boat washdown facilities andsignageatTokaanu Marinaand the nets. during thereporting period,where propeller damagehadcut However, thecordon required maintenance atnumerous places in April2015.Itwasfound to befree ofanynew invasive weeds. of Hornwort establishing inthelake, wasinspected byadive team Otamangakau boatramp inSeptember 2011to reduce therisk such asHornwort. Aweed cordon thatwasinstalled attheLake Locally there isalsoafocus onotherinvasive aquaticweeds Diversion oftheTPSandmajortributaries ofLake Taupo. monitoring onkey local rivers includingthoseontheWestern Genesis Energy andDOCcontinue to undertake monthly surveillance didymo actionslocally. Aspartoftheregional didymoactionplan, on-going publicawareness campaigns continue to bethefocus of effective optionthanmanagementofdidymointheNorthIsland,so North islandwaterways. Prevention remains afar better andcost hope thatthehighly invasive algaemaybeable to bekept outof was first detected inthesouthern SouthIsland.Thisgives some Didymo hasnotreached theNorthIslandin11years since it sustainability strategy ofmakingadifference to local communities. economic andsocialprosperity andfits well withGenesisEnergy’s like theTurangi CommunityHealthCentre, inTurangi’s long term sponsorship ofthe aquaticcentre isacommunity investment, sponsor oftheupgraded Turangi AquaticCentre. Theeightyear In January2008GenesisEnergy agreed to bethenamingrights 8.7 GENESISENERGY TURANGIAQUATIC CENTRE civil defence emergency orpower shutdown”. be able to continue to provide medical services inthe case ofa amazing medical centre thatwe have. Withthegenerator, we will their support,oursmallcommunity would notbeable to have the initiatives andwasanextremely worthwhile project. Without the project asbenefittingtheirenvironmental and community delighted withtheresponse from GenesisEnergy whosaw Raewyn Juddproject memberandtrustee said“theTrust were was completed recently. support ofGenesisEnergy afundraising project wasstarted and enough thatwould keep allservices running.Withtheinitial automatically intheevent ofapower shutdown andonelarge purchase andinstall anemergency generator thatwould start The Turangi CommunityHealthCentre embarked onaproject to in thecentre. and safety ofthecommunity whousethehealthservices provided need to provide electricity duringthesetimesto protect thehealth shutdowns, theSouthernLake Taupo HealthTrust recognised the With theregions susceptibility to volcanic activityandpower much neededfacility for thedistrict. The Turangi CommunityHealthCentre continues to provide a specialists from Taupo andRotorua. a physiotherapist, mental healthservices, andvisitingmedical elderly care, hearingassessments, medical emergency care, GPs, MedLab,diabeticandotherclinics,publichealthnurses, Trust andwasopenedin2008.Theone-stop health-shophouses on behalfofthecommunity bytheSouthernLake Taupo Health and arange ofothersupporters. TheHealthCentre isowned to theHealthCentre are theBayTrust, Taupo District Council the provision ofhealthcare services inTurangi. Alsocontributing

49 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 50 TONGARIRO // 15 Ball isdocumenting. feats themselves, andthisisanarea that Turangi filmmaker John it are every partas interesting and absorbingastheengineering stories behindthepower schemeandthepeople whoworked on and plenty hasbeenwritten anddocumented aboutit.Thehuman biggest andmost ambitiousengineeringandconstruction projects The Tongariro Power Development wasoneofNew Zealand’s POWER DEVELOPMENT 8.10 JOHNBALLFILMS–HISTORY OFTHETONGARIRO from the HarbourMaster viaberthcharges. through hall hireage for private functions,boatstorage fees and waka, kayakers and fishingenthusiasts. Funds are generated The centre is currently utilisedbyrowing groups, boaties,local support these. water related sportorrecreation activitiesandraise fundsto attribute for theregion, withthe key objective beingto promote the centre to make theconcept oftheTrust avibrant andviable Maritime Charitable Trust. Trust members continue to promote The Tokaanu Water SportsCentre ismanagedbythe Tokaanu 8.9 TEWHAREWAKA -TOKAANU WATER SPORTSCENTRE are always well attended. The Turangi Library alsorunsschoolholidayprogrammes which as ‘awesome’. 17/21 students whofilled outthe form, describetheprogramme A feedback form completed duringthereporting periodsaw them andthenrecommend booksto them thatthey would enjoy. the building. They especially enjoy havingalibrarian getto know find outwhere to puttheirbook returns and feel comfortable in get to know how thelibrary operates, usetheirown library card, they visitthelibrary aspartofthereading programme. Children with alibrary staff member,aswell asanincentive gifteachtime Local kidshave funwithbooks,getaone-on-onereading session backwards over thelong holidays. Slump phenomenonthatcan seechildren’s reading level slide Programme. The programme isdesignedto reduce theSummer sponsor thevery successful Turangi Library SummerReading During thereporting periodGenesisEnergy continued to PROGRAMME SUPPORTEDBYGENESISENERGY. 8.8 TURANGIPUBLICLIBRARY–SUMMERREADING use ofGETAC are already inmotionfor 2015/16. Plans continue to encourage thelocal community to furthermake regarding thetraining. a defibrillator. Great feedback was received from the community was heldfor thecommunity atGETAC to teach people how to use local StJohnambulance depotgotonboard andatraining session community whichnow resides insidetheGETAC building.The 8.6. Thisyear theclubalsofundraised for adefibrillator for the help buyacover for theemergency generator discussed inSection pools thisyear, whichattracted about150locals andfundraised to The Turangi Women’s Clubhelditsbiennialfood festival atthe to attend. are travelling from asfar afieldas and National Park lessons onWednesdays. Thisclass isregularly fullandfamilies in-house swimminglessons are proving popular,particularly baby There hasalsobeenalot ofcommunity useofthefacility and nights to bepartofthisclub. GETAC. About40families travel from NationalPark onTuesday where they don’thave thefacilities orservices offered bythe mainly dueto aninfluxof families livingintheNational Park area, The swimclubhasalsogrown andisatcapacity, withtheincrease extended hours onTuesdays andThursdays, whichisfantastic. problems have beenusingthepoolcomplex frequently duringthe been runningwell andanumberoflocals whosuffer from health success. Aquaticclasses heldonMondaysandWednesdays have completed afullyear withextended hours, whichhave beenagreat The GenesisEnergy Turangi AquaticCentre (GETAC) hasnow

available from Turangi library. The filmwassupported byGenesisEnergy and copies are Kerry Scott Story” and“Underground -Tunnelling for Power”. This documentary follows onfrom two very successful films“The Heart” (Figure 37). spirit ofthetown remains strong anditistruly “A Town with has declinedsince thecompletion ofthepower schemeyet the strong community developed andflourished. Turangi’s population challenges presented bythisunprecedented growth avibrant and six years thepopulationgrew from 500to 10,000anddespite the before, duringandafter thepower development phase.Injust John Ball.Thefilmisbasedaround thedevelopment of Turangi, trilogy abouttheHistory oftheTongariro Power Development by “Turangi -ATown withHeart”isthefinaldocumentary filminthe reporting periodnoremoval ofconstruction debriswasrequired. new construction debrisuncovered by flood events. Duringthe conjunction withlocal rafting andkayaking enthusiasts for TPS rivers continue to bemonitored byGenesisEnergy in and kayakers to remove thedebris where possible. safety matters very seriously and worked closely withlocal rafters no longer aconsent requirement, GenesisEnergy takes healthand construction debrisatanumberofsites around theTPS.Although 2006. In2013,recreational users alerted GenesisEnergy to new Significant work wasundertaken to remove debrisin2005and concluded in2009. debris from theriver. Thecondition hada5year timeframe and developed to identifyandwhere possible remove construction and Power Station take 103867)were agreed andaprocess was users intheTongariro River. Consentconditions (RangipoDam by thepresence ofhistorical construction debristo recreational rafting andkayaking enthusiasts raised thesafety hazard posed During theconsultation process for theTPSresource consents, 8.11 CONSTRUCTION DEBRISREMOVAL Turangi –ATown withHeart. FIGURE 37//JohnBalldocumentary filmcover, KEY OBJECTIVES

09 51 ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT // 15 9.0 KEY OBJECTIVES 2014-15 REVIEW

9.1 REVIEW OF KEY OBJECTIVES FOR 2014–15

TABLE 21 // Review of key objectives for 2014–2015

Outcome/Initiative and Objectives Action 2014-15 How did we do? Whanganui Iwi / Genesis Employ and support Project Coordinator to In 2014 an action plan was prepared by the project Energy Initiatives Agreement implement 3 year work programme, including coordinator and agreed to by the Relationship - Implement the Relationship, deciding if connective flow will proceed on Group. In early 2015, a programme manager was Initiatives and Resourcing Western Diversion. appointed to manage the implementation of the agreements. action plan and significant progress has been made in this regard and the majority of work streams have commenced and are on track. Ngati Rangi / Genesis Energy Implement Tokiahuru Agreed Flow; Begin Tokiahuru flow delivery design has been delayed Relationship Agreement - Investigations into Agreed flows on Wahianoa, due to engineering challenges and sediment Implement the Relationship Makahikatoa and Tomowai. management issues. A process for agreed Agreement. flow assessments on other three awa is under development with Ngati Rangi and consultants. Lake Rotoaira Trust - Implement Re-establish Relationship Group meetings and A new Relationship Agreement was signed with the Relationship Agreement. support trust to develop and implement Lake the Lake Rotoaira Trust and Lake Rotoaira Forest Rotoaira Management Plan including water Trust that provides for an operating easement monitoring and aquatic weed management. for the TPS. A weed harvest trial was completed at Lake Rotoaira in partnership with the Lake Rotoaira Trust. Biosecurity and Aquatic Pest Participate in Central North Island Freshwater Pest Two dive surveys were undertaken at Lake Management - Maintain or Regional Partner Group; Undertake dive survey of Otamangakau boat ramp weed cordon (February improve the current biosecurity Lake Otamangakau Boat Ramp Weed Cordon in April/ & April). Repairs were undertaken in February. status of waterways within May; Tokaanu wash down hoses were maintained. the TPS. Summer advocacy was supported. Monthly Didymo testing of Western Diversion rivers from October to June was completed. Signage - All signage is relevant Signage mangement system to be reviewed and The Geographic Information System (GIS) was and reflected in the Signage updated. updated during the reporting period. This provides Management System. a platform for the Signage Management System which will be reviewed in the 2015/16 year. Moawhango flushing flows and Liaise with stakeholders and Horizons over Resource Seven hour and five hour flushes were trialled Rangitikei River - Reassess Consent variation around Moawhango Flushing Flows. in Febraury and March respectively. Depostition timing and flows of Moawhango zone on Rangitikei River was monitored in Jan, Feb flushing flows. and Mar. Additional quantitative monitoring was undertaken at all sites (Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar) to assess effectiveness of flushes on periphyton removal. RCMS Reporting - Enhance Work with IT to complete the development of the A project was planned to incorporate these RCMS reporting capabilities. RCMS reporting process. changes in the RCMS in the reporting period, but due to IT infrastructure upgrades and the possible re-development of our resource consent system this project had to be deferred. Environmental Management Ensure consistency of the framework and alignment Genesis Energy’s Environmental Management and System - Integrate the across the business. Community Engagement Policy Statement was Environmental Management approved by the Genesis Energy Board, and is now System into the company’s new one of the overarching guiding documents for the Business Management System. new Business Management System.

Moawhango Willow Review - Liaise with stakeholders and contractors to deliver Willow control works were completed on the Implement Moawhango Willow willow management in accordance with the review Moawhango River, in accodance with the priorities Management Review. document; identified in the 2014 review. During the reporting period, 2.41 km of willow debris was mechanically Undertake Priority 1 Workstreams; cleared and 8.36 km of seedling willow was chemically sprayed. Determine budget requirements to implement other priorities. Western Diversion Fish Survey Repeat 2011 Survey; Involve Tangata Whenua; Survey completed. Good numbers of elvers

// 15 - Undertake 3-Yearly Western Investigate elver records at Wairehu Culvert; found on upper Whanganui River sites. Trap & Diversion Fish Survey. transfer system actioned, resulting in over 5000 elvers being transferred by Tangata Whenua, to upstream environments. Whio Monitoring - Undertake Liaise with DOC to repeat 2011 Surveys. Survey completed. A record 114 breeding pairs 3-Yearly Western Diversion with 218 ducklings were detected. Fish Survey. TONGARIRO 52 9.2 KEY OBJECTIVES 2015–2016

Key environmental objectives for the 2015-16 year build on many initiatives and programmes that are already underway.

TABLE 22 // Key objectives for 2015–2016

Outcome/Initiative Objective Action 2015 -16 Whanganui Iwi / Genesis Implement the Relationship, Initiatives Continue to support programme manager to implement 3 year Energy Initiatives Agreement. and Resourcing agreements. action plan, and commence involvement in Whanganui River strategy group.

Ngati Rangi / Genesis Energy Implement the Relationship Implement the Tokiahuru agreed flow delivery and progress Relationship Agreement. Agreement. agreed flow assessments on remaining three awa.

Biosecurity and Aquatic Pest Maintain or improve the current Participate in central North Island Freshwater Pest Regional Management. biosecurity status of waterways within Partner Group; Undertake dive survey of Lake Otamangakau Boat the TPS. Ramp Weed Cordon in April/May.

Signage. All signage is relevant and reflected in Signage Management System to be reviewed and updated, the Signage Management System. as required.

Moawhango flushing flows Reassess timing and flows of Present results of flushing flow trials to community and council, and Rangitikei River. Moawhango flushing flows. and where appropriate, seek approval for any flow changes. RCMS Reporting. Enhance RCMS reporting capabilities. Investigate RCMS transition and/or enhancements as part of wider Maximo upgrade.

Environmental Management Continue with integration of the Review Genesis Energy’s Environmental Standards and integrate System. Environmental Management System in the company’s Environmental Management System and into the company’s new Business Business Management System. Management System. Western Diversion elver Eel recruitment at Lake Otamangakau. Install and run Lake Otamangakau elver trap. recruitment.

Moawhango Erosion Monitoring Lake Moawhango Complete 5 yearly erosion transect assessment. Trans-sect shoreline erosion.

Lake Rotoaira Environmental Work with Lake Rotoaira Trust and Confirm operating easement and implement. Development Management. Lake Rotoaira Forest Trust around lake long-term weed management strategy. Develop water quality management issues. monitoring regime. // 15

ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT ENVIRONMENTAL 53 54 TONGARIRO // 15 NIWA Ltd,Christchurch. quantification oftheeffect ofincreased residual flows. Suggested biological metric to meetconsent requirements, and Suren, A.,Biggs,B.andWeatherhead, M.2002:Moawhango River: HAM2015-055; NIWA Project: GPL15213.NIWA, Hamilton, 77pp. Western Diversion FishMonitoring 2014/15.ClientReportNumber Smith, J.;Boubée,Morgan, J.;Morgan, L.;Barrett, R.;2015:TPS Energy. 6pp. Council, Palmerston North.UnpublishedReportfor Genesis June 2015.Reportto GenesisEnergy. Wellington Fish&Game Pilkington, S.,2015:Rangitikei River Catchment Trout Monitoring, Wellington. 44pp Energy. OpusInternational Consultants Ltd,Environmental, Reference 3-53182.00.UnpublishedReportprepared for Genesis during flushingflows from MoawhangoDam.ClientReport Opus International Consultants Ltd,2015:Material deposition Wellington. 51pp Energy. OpusInternational Consultants Ltd,Environmental, Reference 3-53113.00. UnpublishedReportprepared for Genesis Monitoring ofFlushingFlows for MoawhangoDam.ClientReport Opus International Consultants Ltd,2014:Compositionand Consultants Ltd,Environmental, Wellington. 61pp Report prepared for GenesisEnergy. OpusInternational Rangitikei River. ClientReportReference 350734.00.Unpublished the MoawhangoRiver onsedimentdepositionandecology ofthe Opus International Consultants Ltd,2009:Theeffects offlushing Data File 2012.172pp. Ministry ofEconomic Development, 2012.New ZealandEnergy Report, GenesisEnergy, Tokaanu. 50pp. Environmental Report–1July 2012to 30June2013.Unpublished Genesis Power Limited, 2013:Tongariro Power Scheme–Annual Assessment ofEnvironmental Effects. Genesis Power Limited, 2000:Tongariro Power Development – March 2013.3pp. Electricity Authority,2013.ResidentialElectricity Costs Fact Sheet Game Council,Hamilton. 13pp. Unpublished Reportto GenesisEnergy. Auckland/Waikato Fish& Daniel, A.,2015:2015WhakapapaRiver DriftDive Survey. Wanganui RegionalCouncil,Palmerston North.10pp. Unpublished Reportto GenesisEnergy, July 2015.Manawatu Cumming, J.2015:2015Willow Control Operations Report. Wanganui RegionalCouncil,Palmerston North.48pp. Unpublished Reportto GenesisEnergy, June2014.Manawatu Moawhango River byGenesisEnergy. ReportNo.:2014/EXT/1376. Cumming, J.2014:Review ofWillow Control Operations onthe Taupo. 94pp. Unpublished Reportfor GenesisEnergy. ChealConsultants Ltd, Monitoring Survey Report.ReportNo.2014-061-02,June2015. Cheal Consultants Ltd,2015:Lake Moawhango,Waiouru -Erosion Nelson, 127pp. 2510. UnpublishedReportto GenesisEnergy. Cawthron Institute, Agreed Flow RegimeontheTokiahuru Stream. ClientReportNo. Preference Assessment andHydraulic Modellingto Inform an Cawthron Institute, Tipa&Associates, 2014:Cultural Flow Christchurch. 11pp. Report CH00/36GPL0503.to GenesisPower Ltd.NIWA conditio andflushingflows intheMoawhangoRiver. NIWA Client Bergey, E.A.,2000:SummaryofAssessment ofsummerriver Unpublished Reportto GenesisEnergy. NIWA Hamilton. 43pp. NIWA ClientReportHAM2012-063.NIWA Project: GPL12203. Whanganui River Catchment below theWestern Diversion –2011. Baldwin, T., Boubee,J.,andSmith,2012:FishintheUpper 10 REFERENCES

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