The Council may be able to help you identify whether an area is a natural wetland.
Get more information and notify us online when you are working around wetlands.
When you are undertaking work around wetlands you will need to keep Council informed about what you are planning to do. These flowcharts are a useful guide for knowing when and how to contact us, depending on the type of work you are doing.
Taking, use, damming, diversion or discharge of water (pdf 460 KB)
Removing material such as trees, debris and sediment (pdf 453 KB)
Wetlands are permanently or intermittently wet areas that support natural ecosystems of plants and animals. They can include bogs, swamps, fens, shallow water and salt marshes, and are found from the coast to the high country.
Under the new legislation, a “natural wetland” means a wetland that is not:
(a) constructed by artificial means (unless it was constructed to offset impacts on, or restore, an existing or former natural wetland); or
(b) a geothermal wetland; or
(c) any area of improved pasture that, as at 3 September 2020, is dominated (more than 50%) by exotic pasture species and is subject to temporary rain-derived water pooling.
Essential Freshwater: Wetlands factsheet | Ministry for the Environment
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