Stormwater Management Bylaw

Our hearing panel considered the submissions to the bylaw. Staff will be preparing updates to the bylaw to reflect some of the points raised and report back.

Please note - we have extended the period for submissions on the Stormwater Management Bylaw by four weeks. They now close on Friday 25 March.

The Council proposes creating a new Stormwater Management Bylaw to help protect the Mataura River and its tributaries.

We are seeking your feedback to ensure we have a bylaw that meets our community’s aspirations and our regulatory obligations.

The proposed bylaw provides guidance on what can and cannot enter our stormwater networks in Gore, Mataura, Waikaka, Pukerau and Mandeville. It also sets out key responsibilities regarding stormwater management in the District.

It will enable us to:

• Manage the entry of contaminants into the stormwater system,

• Ensure our waterways remain clear and unobstructed,

• Manage land, structures and infrastructure associated with stormwater drainage,

• Protect and regulate against damage, misuse, or loss of land, structures and infrastructure related to stormwater drainage, and

• Carry out enforcement actions and impose penalties to protect our waterways.

Reasons for the Proposal

We hold four resource consents associated with discharging stormwater from Gore, Mataura, Waikaka, Pukerau and Mandeville networks.

Community expectations and environmental regulation regarding water quality are rapidly changing. This means that what has historically been acceptable for stormwater discharges is no longer adequate.

In January 2021, Environment Southland issued a formal warning and abatement notice to the Council after investigating complaints from the public about discharges into Falconer Creek. The discharges caused conspicuous changes to the colour of the water in the creek.

A condition of the abatement notice was that we “prepare an appropriate policy framework ready for consultation, such as a stormwater bylaw, that can provide the Council with the necessary tools to manage stormwater discharges from private properties.”

Key Issues

Key issues the bylaw addresses are:

• Construction or alterations of private stormwater systems

• Protection of the Council’s stormwater systems

• Council and property owner responsibilites

• Restricted activities

• Prohibited activities

• Monitoring

• Enforcement actions and penalties

Falconer Road Catchment

The proposed bylaw will be applicable to any property discharging into any of the Council’s stormwater networks. However, in light of the abatement notice we received from Environment Southland, the initial focus will be on industrial properties in the Falconer Creek catchment.

We have been talking with business and property owners in the south Gore area for some time. We are planning to set up a Falconer Creek Catchment Group to work with residents to improve stormwater quality in the area. Sampling and investigation work has shown there were multiple industrial properties in the Falconer Road catchment contributing to the issue of discolouration in the creek.

Consultation and submissions

Anyone can submit on our Proposed Stormwater Bylaw. We encourage you to let us know your views. Submissions close at 5:00pm on Friday 25 March. Submissions can be made digitally or by downloading the form from this page.

Online: Go to our submission form below

Email: Send to info@goredc.govt.nz with the subject heading Stormwater Bylaw Submission

Delivered: You can drop off your submission to our main office, 29 Bowler Avenue, Gore; the Mataura Library/Service Centre, McQueen Avenue, Mataura; or the Gore Library, Jacob Street, Gore.

Post: Gore District Council, P O Box 8, Gore 9740

What happens next?

We will acknowledge all submissions by email or letter.

Once submissions close, our staff will review them. Should a hearing be required, a date for this will be set and submitters wishing to speak at the hearing will be informed of the proposed date.

Our staff will then provide a report to be considered at a subsequent Council meeting.