Taupo Urban Structure Plan - Taupo District Council

and accept that any adverse effects on the existing built environment
shown to be caused by ongoing geothermal resource development
should be avoided, remedied, or mitigated.
♦ Role of Council
- Council should strengthen its relationship with the geothermal energy
sector, in order to achieve sustainable outcomes for both geothermal
development activities and urban growth.
- Council should initiate future variations to the Proposed District Plan, if
it is unable to satisfactorily resolve appeals against that document, in
order to ensure that the physical layout of urban growth and the key
recommendations for urban growth management that emerges from
the TUSP 2004 (see section 7) is given effect through its land-use
policy and regulatory frameworks.
- Council, the geothermal energy sector, and EW should take a
collaborative and integrated approach to the management of the
geothermal resource, particularly through the Wairakei-Tauhara
Geothermal System Management Plan, the geothermal portions of the
Waikato Regional Policy Statement, Waikato Regional Plan, and the
Proposed Taupo District Plan, in order to better coordinate future landuse
and the development of the geothermal resource.
4.2.2 Lake Taupo
Lake Taupo is New Zealand's largest lake. The Lake is pristine with high
water quality and is a resource of national significance.
The community recently identified the need to protect Lake Taupo's high
water quality as a major issue. Monitoring undertaken by EW has shown a
slow decline in the quality of the lake water in recent years. The reasons for
this decline are likely to be the result of increased nutrient loadings from
catchment use, particularly from agricultural activities.
The Lake is currently managed by many agencies with separate but
supposedly complementary roles and over the past decade it has been
unclear who is responsible for what with respect to its protection. There have
also been increasing demands from the communities, businesses, and
tourists in the Taupo catchment for coordinated action in order to safeguard
the resource.
In response central government, local government, Tuwharetoa Maori Trust
Board, and the Lakes and Waterways Action Group established the Tauponui-a-Tia
project. 2020 Taupo-nui-a-Tia is a long-term vision for Lake Taupo
and its catchment that integrates social, cultural, environmental and economic
aspects. The purpose of the Project is to develop a clear framework for
management of Lake Taupo in consultation with the community and
stakeholders.
Stage 1 of the 2020 Taupo-nui-a-Tia project:
♦ Reviewed current information about the Lake.
♦ Identified the community values associated with the Lake, as well as the
threats to those values.
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