Stormwater

Stormwater guidelines and other documents

Guiding principles of sound stormwater planning
Key documents and who should use them
Conference papers

Guiding principles of sound stormwater planning

Before considering any of the on-site stormwater management or other measures in the documents below, check whether the site is susceptible to existing or potential future flooding by:

obtaining a PIM (Project Information Memorandum) and LIM (Land Information Memorandum) to see if they identify any stormwater issues
consulting the relevant catchment management plan, and/or flood hazard maps held by Metrowater
visiting the site to see that planning information matches the on-the-ground situation
considering the capacity of both public and private drainage, if the flood hazard mapping has not been completed.

Structures must comply with both Auckland City and central government policy on flood hazards before building consents can be issued, and these polices should be considered when designing the stormwater system. Relevant policy documents include the:

Building Act (Section 36)
Building Code (Approved Documents E1 and E2)
District Plan (Part 5D of the Isthmus Section)
Auckland City bylaws - Part 18 - Stormwater Management
Resource Management Act (Section 76).

Key documents and who should use them

Document	Summary	Main users
Rain and the city game	Auckland City has produced an educational board game about what happens to rain in the city. The game is included with the latest State of the environment update. Game square explanations for use when playing the game are available online here.	Teachers and students.
On-site stormwater management manual	This manual provides design professionals with specific designs for on-site measures to reduce the impacts of stormwater runoff (quantity and quality) resulting from applications to exceed the impermeable surface controls in Auckland City.	Consent applicants, developers and their professional advisers
Permeability guideline	This nine-page summary provides a quick reference to district plan rules on permeability. It aims to promote consistency in administering the district plan in light of increasing numbers of complaints Auckland City receives about increasing impervious areas.	Consent applicants and developers and their professional advisers
Soakage design manual	This manual provides design professionals with specific designs for sizing and design of on-site stormwater measures that dispose of stormwater runoff into the ground. Designed for use in those areas of Auckland City where there is adequate soakage, it includes the test procedures for mandatory percolation testing.	Homeowners, plumbers and drainlayers, consent applicants and developers and their professional advisers.
Development Contributions Rebate Programme for Rainwater Tanks (Stormwater) Manual	This Manual provides design professionals with guidelines for the implementation of rainwater tanks under the City's "Development Contribution Rebate Programme For Rainwater Tanks (Stormwater)". The development contributions policy (adopted in June 2006) provides for rebates of development contributions for stormwater to be claimed for developments that have installed rainwater tanks that meet the requirements of this manual.	Homeowners, consent applicants and developers and their professional advisers
Watercourse guidelines	This document sets out how to care for streams in Auckland City, recognising that landowners and residents are the group most often affected by flooding and erosion. The guidelines aim to raise awareness about more sustainable stream management, including improving water quality, fish habitat and stream bank plantings.	Landowners and residents who live near streams.
Auckland City bylaws	Part 18 of the bylaw aims for responsible management of watercourses that pass through private land. The bylaw covers stormwater drainage works, development and flood areas, development and stormwater discharge, maintenance, and fees.	Private landowners and residents near streams that pass through private property, and service providers such as plumbers and drainlayers.
Auckland Water Industry Annual Performance Review 2005/06	This is a regionwide review of water, wastewater and stormwater services and their performance.	Ratepayers, customers of Metrowater, regulators and reseachers.
Development and connection standards Contact Metrowater for copies.	This joint Auckland City/Metrowater document sets out the city-wide standards with which all developments must comply. It provides regulation and performance standards for all water supply and drainage aspects of subdivision and development and needs to be used together with the code of urban subdivision and development.	Plumbers, drain layers and developers and their professional advisers
Code of urban subdivision and development	The code of urban subdivision is a non-statutory document, which is a guide to the service quality and standards required of those undertaking subdivision or development - whether residential, commercial or industrial within the central city and the isthmus.	Consent applicants, developers and their professional advisers.
Stormwater asset management plan	This plan sets out how Auckland City will achieve its aim of providing stormwater services in the most cost-effective manner for both the existing and future community and the environment. It sets out proposals to fund new stormwater assets and operate, maintain and replace existing assets.	All ratepayers and residents, as well as developers and their professional advisers.
Waterways newsletter	An educational newsletter covering a variety of environmental topics, including water, stormwater and wastewater.	All ratepayers and residents
Growing our city through liveable communities 2050	This strategy sets out how growth will be managed within Auckland City, enabling us to plan and manage our future. It caters for increased growth while ensuring that environmental, infrastructure (including drainage and transport), employment and amenity issues are addressed.	Residents, ratepayers, as well as consent applicants and developers and their professional advisers.
Residential design guide	The residential design guide for developments in residential zones in strategic growth management areas has been developed to ensure that new developments are attractive and in keeping with community aspirations for their residential areas. In order to ensure development does not overload stormwater systems, it looks at use of on-site measures in the Residential 8 zone.	Consent applicants and developers and their professional advisers, as well as residents and ratepayers
Auckland City annual plan	Auckland City's current annual plan is incorporated within Focus on the Future 2004-2014 long-term council community plan. It summarises what the council wants to achieve over the next financial year and how much it will cost to achieve it. Long term activities and projects are also included.	Everyone who owns property in or lives, works or plays in Auckland City.
Auckland City district plans: Central Area section Isthmus section Hauraki Gulf Islands section	The district plan is a legal document which sets out policies and strategies for managing natural and physical resources for the future. It imposes various rules to control the effects of activities and development in the city in line with community outcomes.	Everyone who owns property in or lives, works or plays in Auckland City.

Conference papers

The following papers are in Portable Document Files (PDFs) for which you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here for more information.

Document	Summary
Impervious surface mapping for urban flood and pollution control Greg Paterson and Leisa Small. Paper to Stormwater Industry Association Conference, Orange, NSW, April 2002.	The paper describes the technology developed by Auckland City to produce impervious area maps on a property-by-property basis for the whole of the city. The methodology was required to: be non-intrusive method (eg not requiring physical access to properties) be repeatable in future years, to quantitatively assess changes over time provide a reliable basis for potential future user-charging be cost-effective. The paper gives examples of the map outputs, along with a summary of the uses to which the maps are put. Impervious surface mapping for urban flood and pollution control (245kb) Click here for more on the topic.
Development of Auckland's on-site stormwater management programme Murray Menzies and Greg Paterson. Paper to Stormwater Industry Association Conference, Orange, NSW, April 2002.	The paper documents progress by Auckand City in developing and implementing its on-site stormwater management programme. The programme was developed with close attention to applicable precedents, from North America, the UK and Australia. The paper documents the rationale for developing the manual and addresses the allied efforts involved in facilitating the on-site programme, both within Auckland City and with stakeholders. Development of Auckland's on-site stormwater management programme (1,241kb) Click here for the on-site stormwater management manual.
Auckland's on-site stormwater management programme: A cost-effective response to urban intensification Murray Menzies and Greg Paterson. Paper to New Zealand Water and Waste Association Stormwater Conference, Hamilton, June 2002.	The paper documents the development of Auckland City's on-site stormwater management programme, which provides for the implementation of on-site detention or retention measures to meet specified peak flow and water quality control targets. The paper documents the steps in developing the programme, including the initial feasibility study and the preparation of the on-site manual. As well as explaining the content of the manual, the paper illustrates this with an example of an OSM device, namely the stormwater planter. Auckland's on-site stormwater management programme: A cost-effective response to urban intensification (1,195kb) Click here for the on-site stormwater management manual.
Auckland City's innovative 'at-source' stormwater management programme Michael McQuillan and Murray Menzies. Paper to Novatech 2004 Conference, Lyon, June 2004.	The paper explains how growth pressures, combined with increased emphasis on environmentally sustainable practices, led Auckland City to develop a multi-faceted at-source stormwater management programme. The paper describes how original innovation was overlaid onto overseas precedents for components of the programme, including: impervious area mapping on-site stormwater management for quantity/quality control proprietary catchpit filter devices, to capture litter and sediment at source integrated catchment studies research into a user-charging regime Auckland City's innovative 'at-source' stormwater management programme (73kb)
Auckland City's stormwater catchpit filter field and laboratory testing programme Grant Ockleston and Kevin Butler. Paper to New Zealand Water and Waste Association Stormwater Conference, Rotorua, May 2004.	The paper documents the results from a field and laboratory testing programme undertaken by Auckland City to assess the performance of a range of commercial catchpit filter systems (CFS). Four manufacturers submitted CFS units for the field testing programme. Each was installed in a city street and observations made over a 5 month period covering: ease of fitting, sediment retention, maintenance needs, rigidity/strength, ability to catch flows and the effects of litter/organics. The paper summarises the observations. On the basis of the field results, CFS units from two manufacturers were judged as warranting laboratory testing. This testing, carried out at Auckland University, sought to quantify the sediment capture performance. The mode of testing and the results are presented in the paper. Auckland City's stormwater catchpit filter field and laboratory testing programme (91kb)
Auckland's on-site stormwater management programme: The process of change management Greg Paterson and Murray Menzies. Paper to Third South Pacific Conference on Stormwater and Aquatic Resource Protection, Auckland, May 2003.	The paper documents the steps and processes applied in developing Auckland City's on-site stormwater management programme. Key aspects of the design of the programme were to get, prior to its external implementation, political buy-in at the outset and to nurture the internal change management process with council staff. The paper documents the rationale applied in facilitating the programme, both within the City and with stakeholders. Comments are given on the experience and the lessons. Auckland's on-site stormwater management programme: The process of change management (85kb)