Land & agriculture

Sustainable land use and the impact of extreme weather events are important themes in these studies and reviews.

Farm dairy discharge monitoring programme

This document summarises all aspects of the Council’s farm dairy monitoring programme and related activities. It sets out expectations, procedures and standards, and is aimed at providing clarity and certainty for all parties. The document was reviewed and updated in June 2021.

Dairy Discharge Monitoring Programme (1.3 MB pdf) (single document only)

Telemetry information for consent holders

Water-use data must be sent by consent holders to the Council daily. This can be achieved using telemetry, which is explained in this leaflet.

Telemetry information for consent holders (346 KB pdf) (single document only)

Soil Quality in the Taranaki Region 2017

This five-yearly analysis of soil quality in the region was commissioned by the Council and carried out by Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research. It found few significant trends but highlighted some issues which may need managing.

Soil Quality in the Taranaki Region 2017 (1.6 MB pdf) (single document only)

Water & Soil plan review discussion papers & technical reports

Considerations of Stream Size in Determining Minimum Flows and Water Allocation Limits in Taranaki rivers (2.4 MB pdf) More reports

June 2015 flood event

Heavy rainfall on 19 and 20 June 2015 resulted in severe but localised flooding and landslips in the lower and mid reaches of the Whenuakura and Waitotara catchments, throughout the Patea catchment, in the hillcountry between Toko and Whangamomonoa, and in the upper Waitara catchment.

Taranaki June 2015 flood event (1.3 MB pdf) More reports

Dairy stocking rates & soil ecosystem health

This 2010 study examined whether and to what extent increased stocking rates were to the detriment of species diversity and abundance in Taranaki dairy pastures. The results suggested that in the short term at least, higher stocking rates did not pose a significant threat to agricultural biodiversity.

Relationships between intensive dairy stocking rates & soil ecosystem health & biodiversity (580 KB pdf) (single document only)

Sustainable land use in the eastern hillcountry & coastal sand country

Landcare Research (NZ) Ltd was contracted by the Council to survey land-use sustainability on 25 900-hectare hillcountry sites in eastern Taranaki, and monitor bare sand areas on four coastal sand country sites, for 2007. This followed similar surveys in 1996 and 2000, and showed that sustainable land management had made good progress.

Sustainable land-use monitoring in the eastern Taranaki hillcountry and coastal sand country (672 KB pdf) (single document only)