The CMP for the Brightwater and Wakefield UDAs follows on from previous plans for Richmond (2019), Motueka (2022) and the Mapua (2025) CMP which was part of the Mapua Masterplan.

Our communities and the receiving environments are affected by stormwater discharges from our urban areas.

The Council has a responsibility to manage stormwater in a way that supports the environmental, social, cultural and economic well-being of current and future generations.

This Strategy has identified a range of goals and objectives. It also incorporates best practices to support the goals and how they can be achieved. We have identified the following long-term aspirations for stormwater management:

1. Our urban streams, aquatic habitats and coastal marine areas are healthy and accessible

2. Stormwater discharges do not degrade the water quality and ecosystem health of streams and estuaries

3. Stormwater flooding does not create a hazard to our community or cause damage to properties

4. We enable water sensitive growth for future generations

5. We manage stormwater in a holistic, efficient and cost-effective manner

You can view the consultation document in the Document Library section of this page.

The CMP addresses issues related to our urban stormwater networks, which are separate from our networks of natural rivers. This gets messy where rivers flow through/beside our towns.

For this CMP, flooding from the Wairoa and Wai-iti Rivers is not our direct focus. However, we are working closely with our Natural Hazards team through this work, and where obvious issues with the Rivers are identified they will not be ignored.

We’re starting consultation on the draft Brightwater-Wakefield Catchment Management Plan (CMP) for urban drainage areas, to provide long term direction for the management of stormwater within this growing area of Tasman.

Urban catchment management planning is an effective way of coordinating efforts to address multiple stormwater issues, including freshwater management, aquatic habitat management, flood management, and amenity values within the urban environment.

The Brightwater and Wakefield stormwater catchment management plan combines our current knowledge of the catchment and stormwater networks, identifies issues, and sets out a series of actions to help us achieve our vision and aspirations.

All in all, we have created this plan for the community to set out how we will deliver positive stormwater outcomes for the environment and people within the Brightwater and Wakefield urban areas.

While the CMP does not include a review of the impacts of, and response to, the 2025 flood events, this will be done through the Rivers Activity Management Plan and the Tasman 10-Year Plan 2027-2037 process.

Feedback is open from Friday 17 October until Friday 28 November, 2025.