Waikato regional economic profile - Waikato Regional Council

Figure 104: Surface water allocation: authorised + application total allocation as at 30May 2012Waikato Regional Plan Variation 6 has been prepared to deal with the increasingdemand and competition for water in the region for irrigation, domestic or communitysupplies, industry and stock water supplies. Variation 6 establishes a policy frameworkfor managing the increasing demand and competition for water and ensures that wateris available to meet the reasonable needs of individuals and communities and foranimal drinking water, as well as for renewable energy generation and the cooling ofHuntly Power Station, in-stream requirements during water shortages and droughts. Italso ensures that decisions on water allocation take account of the contaminantassimilative capacity of water bodies.6.6.2 Current useA consent is required to take water above 15 cubic metres per day generally and Table10 shows how many water take consents were current as at July 2012. The largest useby volume is hydroelectric generation. However, this water is non-consumptive and isnot removed from the waterway. Flood control is the second largest use but sincethese would only be excised in a flood situation this does not limit availability of waterfor other users. The largest consumptive use is irrigation, with a consented irrigatedarea of 20,000 hectares. The second largest use is for municipal supply.Doc # 2069885 Page 97