Help shape New Zealand’s wastewater future

Overview

We want your help shaping New Zealand’s wastewater future.

Upgrading and renewing New Zealand’s aging public wastewater treatment systems (which serve just over 4 million people) is one of the biggest infrastructure challenges facing our country.

However, getting the consents needed to deliver these critical wastewater renewals is expensive and time consuming for the local councils that apply for consents, the regional councils that issue consents, and the communities that fund this essential infrastructure.

With approximately 60% of public wastewater treatment plants needing to renew a wastewater consent over the next decade, now’s the time to make consenting less complicated and costly for communities by establishing nationally consistent standards and ultimately to lift wastewater performance.

The proposed national wastewater environmental performance standards would streamline the process for future consents, making it more efficient and cost-effective. It’s estimated that national standards could save local councils, and the communities they serve, up to 40% of consenting costs – potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars – while protecting the health of the public and the environment.

The four proposed standards cover the most common consenting topics (discharging treated wastewater to water or land, safe biosolid use, and managing overflows and bypasses) – with requirements tailored to appropriately manage the level of risk to public health and different environments.

For topics that fall outside the standards (e.g. treatment requirements for PFAS or heavy metals like iron and aluminium) the existing Resource Management Act consenting process would apply.

Proposed standards would only apply to public networks, which are primarily owned and operated by local councils. They would not apply to privately-owned wastewater treatment networks or septic tanks.

The content of this proposal has been informed by insights from a range of experts, including individuals from local and regional councils, iwi and hapū, as well as environmental scientists.

There are specific Treaty settlement obligations for the Waikato-Waipā River catchment and the Whanganui River catchment. We are engaging with Post Settlement Governance Entities (PSGEs) in these catchment areas on how to meet these Treaty settlement obligations.  

Getting national wastewater standards in place will bring New Zealand into step with places like the European Union, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, many of which have had nationally consistent wastewater standards in place for decades.

Wastewater standards are a key part of Local Water Done Well, the Government’s approach to addressing long-standing water infrastructure challenges. Standards are intended to reduce the consenting burden and provide local councils with greater certainty of costs for wastewater network investments, while ensuring appropriate public health and environmental outcomes.

In more detail: Benefits of the proposed standards In more detail: Benefits of the proposed standards

Make wastewater consenting more cost effective while protecting public health and the environment. Based on case studies, it’s estimated that local councils could save up to 40% in consenting costs under the proposed standards – potentially saving communities hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Create national consistency to give local councils the certainty they need to plan and fund the significant infrastructure upgrades that many of New Zealand’s aging public wastewater networks require.
Ensure good quality wastewater performance data is available to enable the sector, regional councils that issue and manage wastewater consents, individual network operators, and communities to see what’s working well and opportunities for improvement.
Provide valuable information about costs and treatment expectations to help inform conversations between councils and their communities when considering different options to manage wastewater.

Understanding what’s in the standards

We’ve developed a range of materials to help as you develop your feedback on proposed standards.

Overviews on key topics

Summary information on the four proposed standards

These documents provide information on proposed standards for people without technical wastewater expertise.

Iwi and hapū involvement

Read the full consultation discussion document

These two documents contain the detailed technical information needed to inform your submission.

Consultation discussion document - includes the consultation questions. (Minor clarifications made to pages 18 and 21)
This is supported by the interim regulatory impact statement

Research that informed the proposed standards Research that informed the proposed standards

Sign up for a webinar Sign up for a webinar

Webinars are available to provide information about proposed standards and give you the chance to ask questions.

Have your say by 24 April 2025

This consultation closes at 5pm on Thursday, 24 April 2025 (note that 25 April is ANZAC Day). You can provide feedback by:

completing the online survey
sending us your responses to the consultation questions found in the discussion document:
via email at kōrero@taumataarowai.govt.nz
via post to Level 2, 10 Brandon Street, PO Box 628, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.

Please include your name, or the name of your organisation and contact details in your submission.

If you start responding to this consultation online and want to return to it later, select the 'save and come back later' option at the bottom of the page to save your progress.

Questions?

If you have questions about this consultation, please email us at korero@taumataarowai.govt.nz

Provide feedback online

Online Survey

Contact