To manage Tasman’s water for the future, we need to sort all of our waterbodies into something called a Freshwater Management Unit (FMU).

Each FMU will have its own chapter in the Tasman Environment Plan. For each FMU the long-term vision, values and outcomes identified through discussions with tangata whenua and our community will be used to create the objectives, policies and rules in the Tasman Environment Plan and actions across other council functions.

To identify draft FMUs for discussion, we have built on previous freshwater work by Tasman communities (such as the Tākaka Freshwater and Land Advisory Group process) and neighbouring councils that share water catchments with us.

There are eight FMU proposed for Tasman. These have been based on:

• Freshwater surface catchments and their associated groundwater connections
• Grouping of catchments that flow to the same coastal area
• Grouping of communities with shared interests
• Specific management needs within catchments

We need your feedback on these catchment groupings and the FMU boundaries. You can check these on our interactive map where you can also add what you value in each FMU.

Proposed Tasman Freshwater Management Units:

Waimea FMU: Including the Waimea River and its tributaries and the aquifers under the Waimea Plains and areas that drain to the Waimea Inlet.

Moutere FMU: including the Moutere River and its tributaries and catchments that drain to the Moutere Inlet, plus coastal catchments between Mapua and the Inlet.

Motueka – Riuwaka FMU: including the Motueka and Riuwaka rivers and their tributaries, other coastal catchments that drain to the Motueka and Riuwaka estuaries and shared groundwater which needs integrated management.

Abel Tasman – Kaiteriteri FMU: including the Abel Tasman National Park and neighbouring catchments which all have similar geology and development challenges.

Tākaka FMU: including the Tākaka River and its tributaries, Te Waikoropupū Springs and all catchments between Wainui Bay and Tukurua, including their estuaries.

Aorere – West Coast FMU: including all catchments from Parapara to Kahurangi Point on the west coast and including the Whanganui Inlet and Onetahua / Farewell Spit.

Buller/Kawatiri FMU: including the upper parts of the Buller/Kawatiri River and its tributaries and including lakes Rotoiti and Rotoroa.

Deep Moutere Groundwater FMU: is focused solely on groundwater from the Deep Moutere Aquifer and the Waimea Deep Moutere Aquifer. Linkages to surface catchments are complex and occur over a very long time presenting unique management challenges.