Integrated Catchment Management Plans (ICMPs)

What's an ICMP?

An ICMP tells us how to best manage water supplies, wastewater and primarily stormwater in a particular area to allow Hamilton to grow while protecting the environment.

It helps us make better decisions about how land is used, how we look after the water resources we have, and the infrastructure we need to manage stormwater such as wetlands or rain gardens.

It gives us guidance on:

Pipes and infrastructure needed to collect and release rainwater into the city’s waterways.
Requirements for new development or subdivisions to manage water supplies, wastewater and stormwater.
Managing streams and waterways, identifying problems like stream erosion, and coming up with ways to help fix these problems.
Identifying flooding issues and providing options to reduce flooding.
Restorations and environmental projects.

Hamilton's ICMPs

We’re developing ICMPs for all 16 hydrological catchments around Hamilton.

The requirement to prepare ICMPs comes from conditions on Hamilton City Council’s Comprehensive Stormwater Discharge Consent from Waikato Regional Council.

Each catchment is unique and requires investigation to understand how stormwater flows through the catchment and what areas need enhancement or protection such as gullies and lakes to ensure the future health of the Waikato River and its streams.

ICMP's also consider how water and wastewater networks will be developed within each catchment to support new development.

ICMP catchments

ICMP timeline

2015

Otama-ngenge, completed

View or download the Otama-ngenge ICMP

2017

Rotokauri, completed

View or download the Rotokauri ICMP

2019

Mangaheka, completed

View or download the Mangaheka ICMP

2024

Te Awa o Katapaki, completed

View or download the Te Awa o Katapaki ICMP

Appendices available here

2025

Mangakootukutuku, advanced

Final ICMP report expected in 2025.

2025

Te Rapa, underway

Community consultation on the draft Te Rapa ICMP has been completed. All feedback will be considered, and we’ll get in touch if there are any major changes that affect landowners or developers. The final ICMP will then be lodged with Waikato Regional Council for certification.

2025

Waitawhiriwhiri, underway

We have gathered technical documents to help us develop the draft ICMP.

2025

Kirikiriroa, underway

Under development.

If you’d like more information on an ICMP, please email planning.guidance@hcc.govt.nz

Frequently asked questions

Why do we have to treat and manage stormwater?

Stormwater is often thought of as clean, but when it comes into contact with other surfaces it can collect contaminants such as sediment, phosphorus, copper and zinc. These contaminants flow into waterways (like streams and lakes) and can create poor water quality environments for our native fish, wildlife and plant life.

When rain falls on hard surfaces such as paths, roads and roofs, it can’t sink into the ground. Instead, it flows quickly downstream into gutters, pipes and streams. In some cases, where there is too much stormwater, this can cause flooding. Fast flowing water can also cause erosion.

How do we treat and manage stormwater?

There are many ways to treat stormwater to remove contaminants and reduce its speed before it gets into our waterways. These include encouraging more public and private green spaces, and building stormwater treatment devices such as wetlands and raingardens. To manage stormwater, collecting rainfall and re-using it or soaking it into the ground helps the environment and can help pipes not become overwhelmed with stormwater.

What is a treatment system (train)?

Sometimes it will take several devices to remove certain contaminants and manage the volume of water. A treatment train is made up of a number of several individual treatment devices. Water flows from one device into the next, with the goal of removing a higher percentage of contamination than a single device could achieve. A treatment train can be on private and public property.

Who maintains treatment devices?

Treatment devices located on private property such as rain tanks and rain gardens are required to be maintained by the property owner. Treatment devices that have been assigned to the Council such as wetlands, will be maintained by the Council after a contractor or developer maintenance period.