Water and Sewerage in Rural Areas

Water and Sewerage

Most rural properties have to provide for their own water supply and sewage disposal. This usually means rain water has to be collected in tanks or water has to be pumped from waterways or an underground bore. If water is already piped onto the property from elsewhere, find out where it comes from and check that there is an easement or permission that allows this to continue - even in summer dry periods.

Water storage for water supply to individual premises which are not connected to Council water supply shall include at least one water storage tank of at least 30,000 litres capacity. Please note that there is no requirement for rural premises to provide onsite water storage for firefighting purposes.

Sewage disposal is often to a septic tank. Septic tanks need to be emptied periodically. Wastewater Systems need to be installed by a Hawkes Bay Regional Council approved provider.

It may be that you will need to install a new water supply or sewage disposal system - especially if the property is bare land.

Check that any existing water supply and sewage disposal systems meet the required standards and actually work.

Rural landowners are responsible for the ongoing maintenance of water supply and sewage disposal systems - you'll need to know how to maintain pumps and clear blocked drains.

Please reference Section 4 of the CHBDC District Plan

Please refer to the Water Supply Bylaw May 2021