Lake Waikare and Whangamarino Wetland Catchment Management Plan

On this page:

Lake Waikare and Whangamarino Wetland Catchment Management Plan (CMP)

This Lake Waikare and Whangamarino Wetland Catchment Management Plan (CMP) forms part of a broader lower Waikato zone management planning and implementation work programme.

The CMP is developed to help address issues and opportunities identified within the Lake Waikare and Whangamarino wetland catchment, and provides a framework to guide future work programmes of all those involved with the catchment’s management and development. The CMP will also assist in obtaining resourcing and funding to deliver specific actions and recommendations outlined in the action plan.

A number of key documents have helped to frame the collaborative catchment management plan approach, the most important of which is Te Ture Whaimana o te Awa o Waikato – The Vision and Strategy for the Waikato River.

Purpose of the Lake Waikare and Whangamarino Wetland Catchment Management Plan

Conserve, enhance and, where appropriate, restore the river, land and wetland environment through effective land, water and resource planning across the Lake Waikare and Whangamarino wetland catchment, through a coordinated, collaborative approach.

Background and process

Wetlands and riverine lakes, as Lake Waikare can be classified, contain a diverse range of plants and animals and are home to many rare and threatened species. They are some of our rarest and most at-risk ecosystems.
Some of the (threatened) species commonly found include the Australasian bittern, banded rail, grey duck, grey teal, marsh crake, New Zealand dabchick, New Zealand shoveler and spotless crake. Brown teal were once present, but are now believed to be regionally extinct.
Many birds move between lakes and wetlands as food and nesting requirements change with seasonal variations in water levels. The large lakes are especially important as a refuge for moulting birds that are growing new flight feathers.
Native fish found in the lakes include common smelt, grey mullet, whitebait and longfinned and shortfinned eel. The majority of these species move between the swamps, lakes, river and the sea, depending on their particular life cycles.
Levels of suspended sediment in Lake Waikare are high. Sediment enters the lake from the adjoining land and rivers, and is stirred up by wind and wave action and koi carp. In the wetland, sediment comes from a number of sources, including from Lake Waikare, the Maramarua River and adjacent land.
A 2012 report gave catchment management with farm-scale actions the top-ranked mitigation option. As a result, in 2015 Waikato Regional Council committed to developing a catchment management plan (CMP) to best address sediment sources impacting on the wetland, as well as the wider range of issues in the catchment, including the lake’s water quality and biodiversity.
Waikato Regional Council worked with a group of key stakeholders, the majority of which are represented by the CMP Leadership Partners Group, to better understand the goals and aspirations people have for Lake Waikare and the Whangamarino Wetland.
The group included Lower Waikato Catchment Committee representatives, Department of Conservation, Auckland/Waikato Fish & Game Council, the farmer-led Primary Stakeholders Catchment Trust, Waikato District Council and Watercare Services. Understanding the work that’s already being done in the sub-catchments was also an important part of the process to help improve the health of these natural assets.
The key stakeholders worked jointly with Waikato Regional Council to develop the catchment management plan, which was drafted under the direction of an independent project manager.
Feedback was also provided by the wider community through surveys and community open days.

Draft process, documents and key dates

Draft documents

Part one - Catchment overview [PDF, 8.3 MB]

Part two - Implmentation and action plan [PDF, 387 KB]

State of understanding report [PDF, 1003 KB]

Public information

Frequently asked questions [PDF, 540 KB]

Newsletter - April 2017 [PDF, 554 KB]

Newsletter July 2016 [PDF, 899 KB]

	Process and dates
Draft completed	Map scope of work and goals and aspirations This includes mapping: projects, aspirations and goals of agencies involved existing goals and objectives as defined in Zone Plans, Regional Policy Statement, Healthy Rivers/Wai Ora: Plan Change, etc. stakeholder goals and aspirations soil conservation and biodiversity priorities.
Draft completed	Draft background documents for consultation Part one – catchment overview (draft). State of understanding report (draft), including gap analysis document (draft). These documents, and the maps that accompany them, provide background information on the Lake Waikare and Whangamarino catchment. They reflect our current knowledge, but we need input and feedback from key partners to complete and finalise them.
November 2017	Community meeting A meeting held in Te Kauwhata to engage with community members, get input on what is important in the catchment, objectives and outcomes sought, and what projects and initiatives are already underway and planned. This information informed the content of the CMP and action plan.
January - June 2018	Draft catchment management plan (CMP) completed; Action plan developed The key objective was further development of part one, which included an update of catchment background information as well as the vision, aims, objectives, issues and opportunities. Part two included the development of actions to meet the vision, aims, objectives and opportunities. Both sections were developed by the Leadership Partners Group who were represented by a number of stakeholders including Waikato Regional Council, the Department of Conservation, Waikato-Tainui, Auckland-Waikato Fish and Game and the farmer-led Primary Stakeholder Catchment Trust.
June 2018	Final draft CMP and action plan for discussion The final draft of parts 1 and 2 of the CMP were workshopped with the Lower Waikato Catchment Committee. Concurrently consultation was being undertaken with Waikato District Council and Watercare.
July - August 2018	Final draft CMP and action plan for community feedback Wider community feedback on the draft CMP was welcomed to inform the final CMP that went to the Lower Waikato Catchment Committe and then the Integrated Catchment Committee for adoption.
August 2018	CMP and action plan to be endorsed The Lower Waikato Catchment Committee was presented with the final version of the CMP for its endorsement. The committee received the feedback collected from the community during July/August.
October 2018	CMP and action plan to be adopted The CMP was adopted by the Integrated Catchment Committee.

Lake Waikare and Whangamarino Wetland Catchment Management Plan