Catchment Management Plans: A Comparison of Approaches in the United Kingdom and New Zealand

Integrated Catchment Management Plans (ICMPs) in New Zealand identify potential issues associated with stormwater and prepare options to mitigate them. There is a strong Planning context, with environmental effects assessed and mitigated.

Strategic planning for water management in the UK is different. Separate studies are often undertaken to assess flood risk, drainage and water supply issues. Recently, more attention has been given to integrating these approaches and recent legislation has given this more weight in the planning context.

These approaches respond to different drivers in the two countries. These drivers are reviewed, particularly with regard to targets for flood risk management and water quality. The drivers result in the application of different solutions during the development of both greenfield and brownfield sites. A key component of this mitigation in both countries is the application of Low Impact Design techniques. The paper compares and contrasts different approaches and how they can be integrated as part of the Catchment Management Planning process.