Three waters capacity assessment

Is there sufficient water, wastewater and stormwater capacity to support your building or development plans/proposal?

Our three waters capacity assessment application allows you to understand early if there are any constraints within our water, stormwater, and wastewater networks before you invest time and money into an unfeasible development proposal.

Tuakau and Pookeno face capacity challenges amid growth

The rapidly growing towns of Tuakau and Pookeno are facing significant pressure on their wastewater infrastructure as development continues.

Learn more

Who needs to apply?

You must apply for an assessment if you meet all the following criteria:

You’re planning to apply for a building consent or purchasing a property for development, and
Your project will result in two or three dwellings on a single property or title, and
Your property is located within the medium-density residential zone.

Medium-density residential zone

A medium-density residential zone is designed to enable greater housing supply, reduce pressure for residential development, provide greater housing diversity, and coordinate the delivery of infrastructure and services.

This zoning is applied to urban areas within walking distance of the Ngaaruawaahia, Huntly, Pookeno, and Tuakau town centres.

Click the below button to determine if your property falls within this medium-density residential zone.

District Plan Property Enquiry

If you'd like to learn more about medium-density residential zoning, please head to our Variation 3 - Enabling housing supply page.

When should you apply?

You should apply for your three waters assessment before you start the building consent application process.

IMPORTANT: This assessment does not:

Guarantee the ability to construct or connect to services; these are separate applications.
Include plan approval – drainage plans are still subject to consent approvals under the Building and Resource Management Act.

Application process

Once you submit your application we will vet it to ensure we have all the information we need.
Once the application is accepted our contractors have 10 working days to complete the capacity assessment.
You will receive an invoice and payment link. Payment is required within 20 days of invoicing or the application will lapse and you will need to reapply.
Once payment is received we will notify you of the assessment outcome.

The application fee is $250.

No. One property per assessment application.

If there is insufficient network capacity available for either water, stormwater or wastewater to service your build or development proposal; then your application will be declined.

We will explain the reason for the decision during the outcome notification and recommend you engage with a consultant to advise you further.

Yes. You must apply for a building consent within 6 months of the approval date of your waters capacity assessment application.

Your options will depend on the reason your application was rejected.

If you are not in a medium density residential zone, you will likely require resource consent. See our Duty Planner Service for more information.
The same applies if you are proposing a commercial development or if your development will result in more than 3 dwellings on the property.
If you are in a restricted area, please see our Pookeno-Tuakau wastewater capacity page for more information.

Ready?

Apply now