Hamilton has welcomed a decision which will see Auckland reducing its reliance on the Waikato River as a water source.
Last week, a board of inquiry released its decision into an application from Watercare to take a further 150 million litres of water per day from the river. It cleared the way for Watercare to double its take to 300 million litres of water per day, providing breathing room after the city faced acute water shortages last year.
However, the board rejected Watercare's request for a 35-year resource consent and instead provided just a 20-year consent. In that time, Watercare will be required to make tangible progress towards finding a new water supply, other than the Waikato River.
Consent conditions also strengthen the ability for tangata whenua to be directly involved in decision making about the awa.
Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate said she was pleased Auckland now has greater certainty over a key economic and life-giving resource. She noted the additional water take granted to Watercare will have no impact on Hamilton which has a consent to take water from the river until 2044.