Frequently Asked QuestionsPātai Auau

Where applicants have accepted Actual and Reasonable Use (ARU) we will carry on and issue new consents before the end of August unless we are asked by the applicant to delay this and extend timeframes.

You can ask HBRC to put the processing of your consent ‘on hold’ until a decision is made by the Environment Court on the TANK Plan Change. You can email us at waterpermits@hbrc.govt.nz and quote your application number (APP-....). If we don't hear from you before the end of August, we will assume you do not want us to carry on processing your application at this stage.  Please note that it may take 12-18 months or more to get a decision from the Environment Court.

Yes, please provide this information as soon as you can, preferably before the end of May. We will assess this information and will let you know if it alters the estimate of Actual and Reasonable Use (ARU). We will check back in with you in August to confirm if you want to continue or not based on any reassessment of your ARU volume.

Yes, provided you applied to replace your consent within the timeframes required, you can continue to exercise your existing (expired) consent until a decision has been issued on your replacement application. If you are unsure, please contact us at waterpermits@hbrc.govt.nz.

The TANK Plan is a set of objectives, policies, and rules developed by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council in collaboration with stakeholder, industry, mana whenua and the community to manage land and water use in the Tūtaekurī, Ahuriri, Ngaruroro, and Karamū (TANK) catchments. Its purpose is to ensure integrated and sustainable management of land and freshwater resources across these areas. The plan was developed in response to community concerns about water quality, water allocation, and the need for a more collaborative, community-led approach to managing the region’s waterways. It aims to meet freshwater objectives and address both current and future challenges.

The TANK plan established that the Heretaunga Plains aquifer is over-allocated, especially in areas of intensive horticulture and urban development. The plan sets new limits on how much water can be allocated from most catchments. In some areas, such as the Heretaunga Plains, water allocation is being reduced, and re-allocation of water to existing users is based on Actual and Reasonable Use.

The rules in the decision version of the TANK Plan took legal effect on 2 May 2020 when the plan was notified. The Plan is currently under appeal and is heading to an Environment Court hearing.

Visit the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council website for updates and more information about the TANK Plan Change process.

You were sent an email because you have applied to replace a consent to take groundwater from the Heretaunga Plains Groundwater Area. These were sent out in December 2023 and March-April 2025. Attached to your email was an estimated Actual and Reasonable Use (ARU) volume.
If you haven't already, you should:

• Check that the details are correct and match what you want to use water for - for example, the right crop type and area, and well number.
• Look over the Actual and Reasonable Use volume estimate – check that the actual use data is in line with what you expect, and that there is no missing data.
• Think about the volume proposed, and any changes you have made that might mean you will use more water than what you did in the past.
• Let us know if you accept the volume proposed, or if you intend to provide additional information to justify a higher volume, please do this before 31 May 2025. You can use the online form on our webpage here: TANK Water Take Consents | Hawke's Bay Regional Council

The Actual and Reasonable Use (ARU) is a test brought in by the TANK plan change. As currently proposed, it will be used to determine how much water can be re-allocated to you. 

Actual and Reasonable Use: 

This can’t be more than the annual volume specified on your expiring water permit, or the amount you applied for if that is for less water; 

AND, if either of these are available, the smaller of these annual volumes: 

• The maximum annual volume of water taken and recorded by an accurate water meter between May 2010 and May 2020; or 

• For irrigation takes, the crop water requirement calculated using the crop water calculator IrriCalc. 

The full definition is provided on our webpage, see FAQ: Full Actual and Reasonable Use definition – TANK (Plan Change 9) Decision Version 

In practice, this approach seeks to ‘claw back’ water that is allocated to consents, but which has not been used. Under this approach, many consent holders would not be re-allocated the same volume of water they have been previously. 

Both.

Until the TANK Plan Change rules are operative, both the TANK Plan Change rules and the operative Regional Resource Management Plan (RRMP) apply. This means applications will need to consider and address the relevant rules from both the TANK Plan Change and the RRMP.

The TANK (Tūtaekuri, Ahuriri, Ngauroro and Karamū) Catchment Plan Change (Plan Change 9) was notified in May 2020. It classifies the Heretaunga Plains aquifer as being over-allocated (ie more water is allocated for abstraction than is sustainable) and looks to reduce the level of allocation using the ‘Actual and Reasonable’ volume approach.

Find more information on our #tank page.

If you have a consent with a take rate of less than five litres a second, then a water meter may not previously have been required. In the absence of any actual water use data, we will take the lesser of the volume specified on your current consent and the estimated crop water demand volume (from IrriCalc).

The IrriCalc estimate is based on the crop and area specified on your previous consent (not necessarily what you applied for), and may be adjusted to take into account the actual irrigation area and water use patterns in your area.

You can use the Irricalc model at http://mycatchment.info/

We understand that some properties have been badly affected by the Cyclone and in some cases this will mean that more water is required to enable annual crops to be irrigated over the next few years.

While we can’t allocate more water than previously allocated, your new consent can allow you to take up to the volume that was specified in the old consent, with any Actual and Reasonable Use based allocation reduction phased in over time.

If you are in this situation, please let us know by emailing waterpermits@hbrc.govt.nz. Please provide your application number and explain how your need for water on your property will be affected by your cyclone recovery.

Yes, provided you applied to replace your consent within the timeframes required, you can continue to exercise your existing (expired) consent until a decision has been issued on your replacement application. If you are unsure, please contact us at waterpermits@hbrc.govt.nz

The rules in the decision version of the TANK Plan Change (issued 9 September 2022) are now the rules with legal effect.

The rules will become ‘operative’ when the appeals on the decision, or appeals on a certain section of the decision, have been resolved or withdrawn.

Your telemetry provider may provide a platform for storing and displaying your water use data.

You can also check the data you have provided to Hawke's Bay Regional Council. Go to our Water Meter System page. Registered users can log in and see graphs of their reported usage.

You can withdraw your application at any time, by filling in and returning this form: 

Withdraw Application/Surrender Resource Consent Form 

Please think carefully about withdrawing your application. Once you do, your old consent will expire. Because the Heretaunga Plains Aquifer is over-allocated, it will be very difficult to obtain a new water permit in the future. We recommend that you seek professional advice from a lawyer, planner or your industry representative. 

While you can still take up to rates and volumes specified in your consent, if the TANK Plan Change is confirmed by the Environment Court with ARU as currently proposed, any development and increase in water use that you commit to now will not be recognised when your new consented volume is being assessed. We recommend you seek your own independent advice on proceeding with any development plans based on your current consented volumes.

Potentially, but this will be subject to making an application and an assessment of the effects of changing the location of the take. Please note that under TANK only an amount of water that is consistent with Actula and Reasonable Use can be transferred (ie it has to have been used in the 10 year reference period).

Actual and Reasonable in relation to applications to take and use water means:

a) no more than the quantity specified on the permit due for renewal or any lesser amount applied for; and the least of either:

b) the maximum annual amount as measured by accurate water meter data in the ten years preceding 2 May 2020 if accurate water meter data is available. (If insufficient or no accurate data is available either clause a) or c) will apply)

or

c) for irrigation takes, the quantity required to meet the modelled crop water demand for the irrigated area with an efficiency of application of no less than 80% as specified by the IRRICALC water demand model (if it is available for the crop and otherwise with an equivalent method), and to a 95% reliability of supply where the irrigated area is:

(i) no more than in the permit due for renewal, or any lesser amount applied for, and in the case of Heretaunga Plains Groundwater Quantity Area, is not more than the amount irrigated in the ten years preceding 2 May 2020 and

(ii) evidence is supplied to demonstrate that the area has, and can continue to be, irrigated and the permit substantially given effect to. 

In applying the IRRICALC model, the Council will take into account any water meter data that is applicable.

The TANK Plan sets out some circumstances where a higher allocation may be considered. These include:

• The water use data available is inaccurate or insufficient. This is defined as being:  

• where there is no or incomplete water use data for an irrigation season or, for other water uses, a water year, within the ten year period up to 2020 that would otherwise be the year reflecting their maximum annual amount;

• where there is no or incomplete seasonal water use recorded as a result of water use restrictions or bans being imposed by HBRC or as a result of consent conditions.

• The completeness of the water permit and water meter data record (Rule TANK 8(a))
• The climate record and whether that resulted in water use restrictions or bans being imposed (eg minimum flow bans) (Rule TANK 8(b)).
• Effects of water sharing arrangements (Rule TANK 8(c)).
• Crop rotation/development phases (Rule TANK 8(d)).

Let us know that you do not accept the Actual and Reasonable Use annual volume, and if you intend to provide further information to support allocation of a higher volume. If you do intend to provide more information, and want processing of your application to continue, please provide this before 31 May 2025. Please check the guidance on our webpage to ensure the information you provide is relevant. 

We also recommend that you get your own advice on the best option for your own circumstances, through talking to your industry representative, agricultural consultant or planner. 

If you accept Council’s proposed annual volume, respond by email to waterpermits@hbrc.govt.nz and let us know. We will complete processing of your consent application and issue a new water permit that includes this annual volume.

Applications have been received by HBRC since late 2018. We have extended the processing timeframes over the years while the TANK Plan Change process continued. Our most recent extension was in March 2025, when we extended the process until the end of August 2025 and asked for applicants to provide us with any additional information to support their proposed volume before the end of May 2025.  

Applicants now have the choice to ask HBRC to carry on with proceeding with their application, or to ask for a further extension of the timeframes until a decision on the TANK Plan Change is made by the Environment Court (ie put your application ‘on hold’).