Draft Drainage Bylaw 2022

The Manawatū District Council (“Council”) seeks feedback on the draft Drainage Bylaw 2022. Your feedback will help inform the final version of the bylaw that will replace the current Drainage Bylaw 2015.

Purpose

The purpose of the draft Drainage Bylaw 2022 is:

1. to manage, regulate and protect from damage, misuse or loss, or for preventing the use of, the land, structures, or infrastructure associated with the Public Wastewater Network and the Public Stormwater Network defined as the “Public Drainage Network”; and
2. to ensure that private drains are properly managed and maintained in order to protect the public from nuisance, and protect, promote and maintain public health and safety, including by minimising flood risk.

The draft Drainage Bylaw 2022 aims to achieve this purpose through:

• Setting requirements for new connections to the public drainage network;
• controlling the quality of stormwater discharges into the public stormwater network and into the receiving environment
• setting requirements for works, such as excavation and construction, in, on, or near the public drainage network;
• stormwater treatment requirements and a permit regime to manage the quality of stormwater discharges from trade premises; and
• setting out duties and obligations for the design, construction, management, maintenance and removal of private drains or modified watercourses.

Application

This Bylaw applies to:

1. discharges of domestic wastewater into the public wastewater network;
2. discharges of stormwater into the public stormwater network; and
3. works in, on or near the public drainage network.

Key Changes

The main differences between the current bylaw and the draft Drainage Bylaw 2022 are as follows:

1. Introduction of a new permit regime for discharges of treated stormwater. Trade Premises discharging stormwater into the public stormwater network will need to apply to Council for a permit within 12 months of the bylaw commencing. The purpose of this change is to give Council a greater level of control over the quality of stormwater discharges into the network to improve environmental outcomes.
2. Changes to the stormwater quality requirements.
3. New requirements around the storage of hazardous substances where they could accidentally enter stormwater.
4. Clearer roles and responsibilities for customers with private drains.
5. Changes to terminology and other minor changes to align the draft bylaw better with relevant legislation and other Council documents such as the Engineering Standards for Land Development.