State of the Environment

MONITORING AND REPORTING ON ROTORUA'S STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT

'Manaaki whenua, manaaki tangata, haere whakamua - Care for the land, care for people, go forward'

• A new approach to reporting
• Feedback and improvements to reporting
• Why monitor and report on the state of the environment
• Reporting schedule and release of indicators
• District wide indicators
• About the data
• Census data unavailable due to Canterbury earthquakes
• What is meant by ‘urban’ and ‘rural’?
• Acknowledgements
  
  
  

A new approach to reporting

This is the third Rotorua District State of the Environment reporting round and the first available online. The 2002 report and 2007 report were presented in hard copy format only. Previous reports are available online as pdf. Online reporting makes information more accessible and up to date allowing information to be updated as it is available rather than waiting to report every five years. Indicators will be updated and released yearly at regular intervals (where the data is available). Lakes A Zone indicators are also reported in 2012 for the first time. No further reports will be published in hard copy however online reporting may be downloaded for printing as required.

The reporting schedule below lists indicators under three main themes: Sustainable environment, Sustainable Economy, and Sustainable Infrastructure. These themes reflect Council’s strategic direction in growing a sustainable Rotorua. Subthemes group related indicators together to provide a bigger picture of environmental effects and trends over time. A fourth theme, Lakes A Zone reports specifically on the Lakes A Zone of the district.

Back to top

Feedback and continuous improvements to reporting

Council would like feedback on whether the information presented on the State of the Environment is user-friendly and useful. At the end of each of the indicators is an opportunity to fill out a comments box. To improve our reporting services tell us what information you would like to see along with suggestions on how you think it should be presented. If you have any other comments or questions please contact Rotorua District Council via email environmental.reporting@rdc.govt.nz or phone (07)348-4199.

Back to top

Why monitor and report on the state of the environment?

Monitoring the State of the Environment is a requirement of section 35 of the Resource Management Act 1991. Its purpose is to measure if or how the Rotorua district environment is changing over time and to check whether policies and processes in place are effective, and whether Council is effectively carrying out its resource management functions. It highlights good, bad or neutral environmental trends.

The environment encompasses more than just the natural environment. It includes people and how they interact with the environment. People receive vital services and benefits from the environment, such as fresh air and drinking water, land to live on and resources to produce food and goods. At the same time people and the activities they undertake can have a positive or detrimental impact on the environment such as creating air pollution from smoky fires, adding contaminants to water through wastewater and storm water, and clearing land for growing food, housing and producing goods. A sustainable environment is one where a balance is struck between the health of the environment and use of the environment. The intention of reporting is to highlight where Rotorua is doing well, not so well or neutral.

Knowing these trends assists with making informed decisions on environmental issues and impacts.  Intervention to address these is often through programmes, projects and policies. Continued environmental monitoring shows the level of success these interventions make in the Rotorua environment.

State of the Environment monitoring and reporting shown on this website is at a district council level. This information can contribute to regional and national State of the Environment monitoring and reporting. The last national State of the Environment Report was released in 2008. See Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Waikato Regional Council and Ministry for the Environment websites for regional and national State of the Environment monitoring and reporting.

Back to top

Reporting schedule and release of indicators

Indicators will be released four times a year. Generally indicators grouped under each of the themes will be released together. For some indicators, where data is not available for release, these indicators are delayed until data becomes available. An example may be indicators that are dependant on aerial photography analysis must wait until the aerial photography is flown, processed and made available for analysis before it can be reported on.
Data for some indicators may not be available each year. An example of this are indicators that are dependant on census data, such as dwelling counts usually done every census year (5 yearly). Where possible indicators will be updated each year.

 Back to top

District-wide indicators

The indicators listed below report on the entire Rotorua district (where data is available), including the Lakes A Zone part of the district. In addition to these indicators, there are indicators specific to the Lakes A Zone listed following the table below.

Sustainable environment	Availability	Updated
Freshwater health
Lake water quality	Available	Annually
Stream water quality in streams	Available	Annually
Bathing water quality in streams	Available	Annually
Bathing water quality in lakes	June 2012	Annually
Access to wastewater reticulation	Available	Annually
Wastewater treatment	Available	Annually
Riparian margins	Available	Annually
Extent of wetlands	2013	To be advised
Groundwater quality	2013	To be advised
Urban land and amenity
Urban subdivision	September 2012	Annually
Neighbourhood reserves in the urban area	Available	Annually
Urban residential development	September 2012	Census year
New in the urban area	September 2012	September 2012
Noise levels and noise complaints in the urban area	Available	5-yearly
Environmental compliance	June 2012	Annually
Air quality	Available	Annually
Landcover change in the urban area	September 2012	5-yearly
Protected natural areas in the urban area	June 2012	Annually
Landscapes of the urban area	September 2012	Census year
Rural land amenity
Rural subdisivion	September 2012	Annually
Reserves in the rural area	Available	Annually
Noise levels and complaints in the rural area	Available	5-yearly
Rural residential development	September 2012	Census year
New in the rural area	September 2012	Annually
Protected natural areas in the rural area	1 September 2012	Census year
Landcover change in the rural area	2013	2013

 

	Availability	Updated
Heritage
Protection of Rotorua's heritage	Available	Annually
Local climate
Rotorua's climate	Available	Annually
Renewable energy production
Energy consumption	1 June 2012	Annually
Greenhouse gas emissions	1 June 2012	Annually
Rotorua geothermal fields energy production	2013	Annually
Prospecting geothermal fields	2013	Annually
Protection of geothermal features	1 June 2012	Annually
Building consents for green energy	1 June 2012	Annually
Tourism and commerce
Visitor nights	1 June 2012	Annually
Airport movements	1 June 2012	Annually
Rotorua events	1 June 2012	Annually
Commercial and industrial development	1 June 2012	Annually
Solid waste management
Waste to landfill	1 September 2012	Annually
Recycling	1 September 2012	Annually
Hazardous waste	1 September 2012	Annually
Freshwater use
Drinking water	1 September 2012	Annually
Transport and safety	1 September 2012	Annually
Bus services	1 September 2012	Annually
Cycleways	1 September 2012	Annually
Road safety	1 September 2012	Annually
Traffic volumes	1 September 2012	Annually
Heavy traffic	1 September 2012	Annually
Vehicle use and emissions	1 September 2012	Annually

Back to top

Lakes A Zone monitoring and reporting

The Lakes A Zone is a diamond shaped area of the Rotorua district containing lakes that are considered to be of national importance. It covers most of the eastern lakes from Lake Okataina to Lake Okaro. Because of its significance it is zoned differently to the rest of the Rotorua district. Objectives, policies and rules for this zone are contained within Part 20 of the Operative Rotorua District Plan, called the Lakes A Zone.
Monitoring and reporting on the Lakes A Zone provides specific focus and detailed information for this area. Indicators are presented as a subset of the district-wide indicators. Specific monitoring requirements for Lakes A Zone are set out in Section 7.0 of the Lakes A Zone.

Lakes A Zone indicators	Availability	Updated
Water quality
Changes in land use within the Lakes A Zone	June 2012	5-yearly
Vegetation in riparian areas within the Lakes A Zone	June 2012	5-yearly
Lake water quality of lakes within the Lakes A Zone	Available	Annually
Settlements and developments
Buildings in the settlement zones of Lakes A	December 2012	Annually
Resource consent compliance and complaints	June 2012	Annually
Changes to landscapes within the Lakes A Zone	Available	2-yearly
Vegetation in the settlement zones of the Lakes A	June 2012	5-yearly
Lake structures within the Lakes A Zone	December 2012	Annually
Natural heritage
Flora and fauna ecological assessment of the Lakes A Zone	Available	5-yearly
Indigenous vegetation health and extent	June 2012	5-yearly
Protected natural areas of the Lakes A Zone	June 2012	5-yearly
Cultural heritage
Heritage sites within the Lakes A Zone	Available	Annually
Resource consents and consultation with tangata whenua	December 2012	Annually
Recreation
Noise complaints within the Lakes A Zone	Available	Annually
Noise level monitoring within the Lakes A Zone	June 2012	3-yearly
Protection of lake edges within the Lakes A Zone	December 2012	Annually
Recreational facilities and use	Available	3-yearly

Back to top

About the data

Data and information has been sourced from both within Council and from external sources. Care has been taken to ensure all information is accurate, however Council takes no responsibility for incorrect data or any actions that may result from the use of information reported. Maps are only intended for indicative purposes and not intended for use beyond State of the Environment monitoring and reporting. For detailed mapping requirements or reproduction of maps please contact Rotorua District Council.

Back to top

Census data unavailable due to Canterbury earthquakes

Due to the Christchurch earthquakes the New Zealand Census for 2011 was postponed. Census data is used to support and inform some indicators. Where possible, alternative data sources or projections have been used. Population figures used are projections based on 2006 census and have been sourced from Statistics New Zealand. 

Back to top
 

What is meant by ‘urban’ and ‘rural’?

Definitions for urban and rural areas are based on zones in the Rotorua Operative District Plan. Zones have been grouped according to their geographical location and activities within the zones. The table below shows the zone split between urban and rural areas used to report on indicators.

Area	Zone
Urban	All residential zones Commercial zones A to H Industrial zones A and B Resort zones A, B and C Transitional Development Zone Airport Zone
Rural	Rural zones A to F Industrial zones B and C Lakes A Zone
Both urban and rural	Reserves zones A and B (These have been blended into the surrounding area. Eg, if mainly in an area with residential zone around, then it will be classed as urban)

Please note that the Lakes A Zone has policy areas within the zone. Lakes A indicators have not been broken down into urban and rural areas.

 Back to top

Acknowledgements

 
Rotorua District Council would like to acknowledge the following who provide their time, knowledge and expertise to monitor and report on the state of the environment:

• Bay of Plenty Regional Council
• Waikato Regional Council
• NIWA
• New Zealand Transport Agency
• Statistics New Zealand
• New Zealand Historic Places Trust
• Rotorua Regional Airport Limited
• Rotorua District Council staff 
  
  

Photographic images have been supplied by Full Frame Photography.

Back to top