How Catchment Management can be Delivered for the One Auckland Watersheds to Meet High Expectations

The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) has been working under existing governance to provide guidance for local authorities on how to structure and prepare Integrated Catchment Management Plans (ICMP). The aim of this project is to provide consistent outputs. However, this is not the case as institutional capacity, available budgets, community expectation and business practices of the individual councils are critical factors in the production of consistent planning outputs. It has become apparent that the systems and technical tools that support the calculations and designs/plans that are generated are proving to be increasingly important.

The integration of information through Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and documented management systems can allow multi-department/organisational collaborations to flourish. Under a ‘total watershed management approach’ that includes infrastructure, such as roads, wastewater/water supply and multiple land uses, it is possible to combine visions and resources to achieve more sustainable results.

Given that the seven local councils in Auckland will be merged into a ‘One Auckland’ super council, it is imperative that the tools are available and the business processes well understood to take advantage of the expected benefits of amalgamation. This paper investigates just what might be required in the ‘One Auckland Scenario’ to achieve integrated catchment management best practice.