Elegant Report

CULTURAL IMPACT REPORT 9'..+0)6109#6'45722.; KAITOKE WEIR IN ASSOCIATION WITH WELLINGTON TENTHS TRUST & PORT NICHOLSON BLOCK SETTLEMENT TRUST CULTURAL IMPACT REPORT WELLINGTON WATER SUPPLY –KAITOKE WEIR PROPOSAL TO DECREASE LOWER MINIMUM FLOW CONDITION GREATER WELLINGTON REGIONAL COUNCIL TABLE OF CONTENTS PROPOSAL OVERVIEW & TECHNICAL DETAIL ..............................................................................3 LOCATION....................................................................................................................................................3 LANDSCAPE .................................................................................................................................................3 CONSENT......................................................................................................................................................3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................................5 BACKGROUND TO CULTURAL IMPACT ISSUES..............................................................................8 0Ɩ25,+,6725<$1'/2CAL PLACE NAMES...............................................................................15 ECOLOGICAL FLOWS ............................................................................................................................20 CULTURAL HEALTH INDEX.................................................................................................................23 WATER CONSERVATION ......................................................................................................................24 DEED OF SETTLEMENT - STATEMENT OF ASSOCIATION .........................................................25 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.....................................................................................27 BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................................................................................................29 APPENDIX I................................................................................................................................................30 APPENDIX II ..............................................................................................................................................31 © Raukura Consultants 2 PROPOSAL OVERVIEW & TECHNICAL DETAIL LOCATION The central part of this application is the Kaitoke Weir situated at kilometer 42 of the Hutt River just above the confluence of the Pakuratahi River (41.1 km) and below the confluence of the Eastern and Western Hutt Rivers in the Kaitoke Regional Park. The site is within the boundary of Upper Hutt City and is only a few kilometers from SH2. The applications relates to the Hutt Water Collection area being the upper catchments of the Eastern and Western Hutt Rivers. This area is also the near the northern bounds of the Port Nicholson Block and the traditional area of Te Atiawa/Taranaki Whanui which also extended to the catchment boundary. LANDSCAPE The area upstream of the Kaitoke Weir feature extensive areas of unmodified silver beech, red beech, and valley floor podocarp forest, alpine tussock lands, alpine wet turf and sub-alpine sphagnum bog. It is one of the few areas in the region containing southern rata, a species endangered by possum browsing. The forest is home to a great variety of indigenous forest birds, including the rare kaka, kakariki and NZ falcon (karearea). CONSENT The existing consent WGN000199 [20537] is to take, use, dam and divert water at a rate of 1735 L/s (150 Megalitres per day) with an instantaneous rate of no more than 1850 L/s from the Hutt River for water supply purposes. The consent expires on 17 August 2036. The conditions of the resource consent include the following: 8. The permit holder shall cease all abstraction from the Hutt River at the Kaitoke Weir when flow upstream of the weir drops to 600 L/s. Abstraction shall not recommence until flow is over 600 L/s. 9. The maximum daily abstraction volume from the Hutt River at the Kaitoke Weir shall not exceed 150 MegaLitres. 3 10. The maximum instantaneous abstraction rate shall not exceed 1850 L/s 11. When flow upstream of the weir is greater than 600 L/s but less than 1760 L/s, all flow above 600 L/s can be abstracted. 12. When flow upstream of the weir is greater than 1760 L/s the maximum abstraction rate shall not exceed 1160 L/s plus 50% of those flows over 1760 L/s 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Wellington Water Supply – Change of Conditions to Water Permit Background to the proposal Greater Wellington Water has applied for a variation to a condition which have the effect of reducing the minimum flow requirement from 600 L/s to 400 L/s at the Kaitoke Weir where water is drawn at part of the Wellington water supply for a temporary period of 12 years. Additional conditions to require monitoring of the river, the use of a Low Flow Management Plan, and a strengthening of the existing s128 condition is also proposed. The abstraction from the Kaitoke Weir constitutes a significant part of the overall fresh water supply for the four Wellington Cities. It is generally a run-of-the-river take that is reasonably constant except in times of flood flow when the turbidity of the water makes it inefficient to take the flow and the Te Marua Lakes back up the supply. Introduction This report is focused on the proposed temporary variation to the water take at the Kaitoke Weir and any potential cultural and physical impacts of such an increase in the take at the Weir. The report will also briefly look at the overall longer term scheme to supply water to the Wellington Cities and the management of freshwater supply in Greater Wellington and the long term alternatives to provide that supply. This Report has been approved by: the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust and Wellington Tenths Trust (the Trusts) as Iwi Authorities under RMA91 and jointly and collectively represent the tangata whenua iwi of Wellington and the Hutt Valley of Te Atiawa, Taranaki, Ngati Tama and Ngati Ruanui. Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust is 5 in the process of having a the Port Nicholson Block (Taranaki Whanui ki te Upoko o te Ika) Deed of Settlement to be legislated in 2009. Te Runanganui o Taranaki Whanui ki te Upoko o te Ika a Maui (the Runanga) has been consulted on this report. The report will cover the cultural associations in the area and the entire Hutt River as an entity of cultural importance to the mana whenua iwi of Wellington. The importance of the freshwater resource to Maori has been highly important both in terms of how it is managed from a cultural perspective and the two traditional concepts of kaitiakitanga (customary guardianship) and rangatiratanga (authority and control) along with issues around possession or even ownership. Ecological Flows The proposed National Standard for ecological flows seeks to maintain the ‘natural rhythms’ of the flow of river ensuring the high flows are not significantly attenuated and the low flows are not decreased to levels that do not maintain the ecology of the river or stream. This policy is to cover rivers where a management plan is not in place. The Hutt River is subject to the Regional Freshwater Plan (1999) and a draft low flow management plan has been drafted but not finalized. Because the Freshwater Plan is in place the proposed standard would not apply, however the ethos behind the proposed policy should guide all decisions makers and River Management Plans. Te Atiawa/Taranaki Whanui would support that approach of adopting an ecological flow approach to river management, but would like to localize the meaning of ecological flows for the entire Hutt River. Water Conservation Te Atiawa/Taranaki Whanui in considering this application would like to see a broader consideration of the wider use of conservation mechanisms such as the use of water metering, not just for industrial users but also for domestic uses. In the long run it is thought that the use of meters would be a significant step forward to ensure domestic water users properly value the water they use and are aware of their usage and perhaps for some of their 6 wastage. Currently freshwater wastage can occur without users being aware of it with leakages and perhaps water use practices which are particularly wasteful not being noticed. Cultural Impacts The overall flow of the Hutt River in periods of low flows can have impacts on the likes of the eel, inanga, piharau and other indigenous fish species depending on the time of year. There appears to have been little work done on these species to date and for completeness further research should be considered. The use of the flow of the river for recreational and social purposes including swimming, canoeing, waka ama and fishing (both for sport fish (such as trout and indigenous fish such as tuna/eel) is highly significant for the Hutt community generally and for Maori as a significant part of the community. These uses are often at times when the flow of the river is at its lowest and are affected by anything that limits low flows. Water quantity is also an issue to be considered in this application particularly at time of low flow in the Hutt River the assimilative capacity of the river is significantly reduced. Water quality is a complex matter but is unlikely to have any effects in the immediate vicinity of a water take as this comes from a relatively natural catchment with the largely indigenous cover still

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