Flood Damage Rules

Permitted activity rules to assist with flood damage

Recent flooding events have had a significant impact on some farm properties across the region. The West Coast Regional Council has been receiving enquiries from farmers regarding what works can be undertaken to repair flood damage to their farmland without a resource consent.

We know that this is a stressful time for property owners particularly in the Buller District with a number of farmers who have sustained damage to their flood protection infrastructure and lost land to erosion.

Because we live in a high rainfall area, Council has a range of permitted activities in the Regional Land and Water Plan that allows for recent flood damage to be repaired without a resource consent if the conditions in the rules are complied with.

There are permitted activity rules for:

• The repair of structures such as flood protection walls and groynes. One of the key conditions is that the structure is repaired to the same orientation as before the flood and is not increased in size by more than 10 percent.
• Bank reinstatement where the river bank has been eroded by flood water. The main condition is that the bank is reinstated to the same dimension as what existed prior to the flood event.
• The removal of gravel or debris from around structures, and the removal of logs and trees from waterbodies, that have been deposited by the flood event.
• The clearance of drains which may have become blocked from debris or sediment.

Download the Information Sheet on Flood and Erosion Repair here

Download the Practice Note on Regional Land and Water Plan Rule 20 and 28 here

We are here to help. If you need assistance to clarify the permitted activity rules please phone 0508 800 118 and speak to a consents or compliance officer, or email us on info@wcrc.govt.nz.