'Pull the plug': Government reforms could halt new Hawke's Bay water rules

New rules set to halve the amount of water that major water users could take from the Heretaunga Plains in Hawke's Bay are on the verge of being put into limbo.

A halt of Hawke's Bay Regional Council's controversial Plan Change 9, known as the Tank plan, is being recommended due to the Government's reforms of the Resource Management Act.

Councillors will decide at a meeting on Wednesday whether to accept the council's Regional Planning Committee's recommendation which would place the proposed new rules for managing water quality and use in the Tūtaekurī, Ahuriri, Ngaruroro and Karamū (Tank) catchments on hold.

Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay president Anthea Yule said it was great news for the region's farmers and economy.

"We've been circling the drain on this for years – now it's time to pull the plug," Yule said.

The council has spent years developing the rules, but the Government is overhauling the resource-management framework, which could leave them partly or entirely redundant.

At the committee meeting on August 12, officers recommended withdrawing Tank, saying it would likely cost between $500,000 and $1 million to proceed through the remainder of the Environment Court process and require substantial input from staff.

The proposal was released by the council in May 2020, sparking an outcry from local growers in particular.

Appeals representing the interests of at least 20 commercial and private groups were submitted to the Environment Court in 2022. While some have been resolved, most have not.

In 2025, growers in the region petitioned the council to pause implementation of its Tank allocations while mediation on the strategy was underway.

Yule said the plan change was written for a previous resource management age that no longer existed.

"Hopefully, we've all learned a lot since then about writing a water quality-quantity regime that delivers results and works in the real world."

Yule said it had consumed significant time and resources from the council and ratepayers, Federated Farmers, and other interested parties.

"Federated Farmers' view is that they should ditch it altogether," Yule said.

The committee meeting agenda said the Environment Court in 2026 directed that the unresolved appeals and timetable remain on hold and the council should keep Tank on hold and update the court on progress and relevant changes to legislation.

The agenda says that at mediation on August 3, 2026, the parties agreed to minor changes and further work. They aim to finalise the changes and submit them to the court by September 18, 2026.

While the court has confirmed that the unresolved appeal points can remain on hold, its records show it is for a period rather than indefinitely.