The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and Implications for Stormwater

The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (‘NPSFM’) prepared under the Resource Management Act (‘RMA’) took effect on 1st July 2011. The main aim of the NPSFM is to set out objectives and policies that direct local government to manage water in an integrated and sustainable manner. Underlying these policies is the whole approach to integrated catchment management.

The Land and Water Forum (LAWF) has been re-convened as the main means to further implement the NPSFM. LAWF considered recommendations in March 2012 on methods, tools, and governance arrangements for setting limits for water quality and quantity. These recommendations will be followed in September 2012 with further recommendations about how to manage water within limits.

This paper reviews the NPSFM and the way in which it may be implemented by local and central government. It goes on to review the potential implications for stormwater management best practice in order to achieve the overall objectives that will be required to be met. The paper also highlights what could usefully come from the LAWF process, how we could expect the Government to react to it and the consequential implications for stormwater management.