Regional Council has developed a draft system management plan (SMP) that outlines how we think the Tauranga Geothermal System should be managed. We are now seeking feedback to ensure that the draft SMP reflects the views shared by the community.

Draft Tauranga Geothermal System Management Plan update

Bay of Plenty Regional Council is currently reviewing how the Tauranga Geothermal System is managed.

Late last year we released a draft document for feedback, which outlines how we will work, some of the challenges and opportunities, and specific actions we will take to manage the system.

Since that time, central government announced its decision to reform the resource management act, which may have implications for the management of the geothermal resource.

After careful consideration of the feedback received so far and the changes coming from central government, Regional Council’s Strategy and Policy Committee agreed at their meeting on 13 May to carry out further engagement over the coming months before preparing a final draft later in 2025.

Once complete, the system management plan will provide operational guidance for the integrated and sustainable management of this system. This will help build a better understanding of the system’s values and clarify operational matters, such as preferred options for the management of discharges, metering requirements for geothermal takes, and efficiency measures.

System management plans are operational documents and are required for systems of high use as set out in the Regional Policy Statement. As it is not a plan change, it is not impacted by the resource management act reforms.

In the Bay of Plenty this currently includes:

The Tauranga Geothermal System is a low temperature geothermal system and is the warm parts of the interconnected groundwater system. Although it is less well-known than the hot geothermal systems of the Bay of Plenty Region, it is used and valued in many ways.

A system management plan is being developed to ensure this system is managed in an integrated and sustainable way, while balancing the values of the community.

System management plans are also required by the Regional Policy Statement for high use systems such as Tauranga.

The Tauranga Geothermal System Management Plan will be a guiding framework for our conduct regarding the use of geothermal heat and/or water. Its scope includes:

• Characteristics, values, and community benefits
• Tangata whenua values and direction
• The vision for the system
• The integration of geothermal and freshwater management
• Guiding principles for management
• Our key strategies for managing the system e.g. production and discharge strategy

The Tauranga Geothermal System is a large low-temperature geothermal system (generally between 30°C and 70°C) that shares similar aquifers as the cold groundwater resource. It extends over 60 km from Katikati-Waihi Beach in the north-west to Te Puke-Maketu in the east, with the dominant heat source appearing to lie near Tauranga city. Learn more about this system here.

For a detailed online map, visit here to open the draft planning map (RNRP Geothermal Spatial Overlay) to support Draft Plan Change 11 – Geothermal.

The feedback period has now closed.

We will be collating feedback which will be considered by Councillors before being adopted.