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Stormwater soakage and groundwater recharge in the Auckland region

Author:  
Amir Montakhab, Amelia Cunningham, Ross Roberts
Source:  
Auckland Council
Publication date:  
2021
Topics:  
Environment

What is the purpose of this document?

This guideline document, Stormwater Soakage and Groundwater Recharge in the Auckland Region
(Guideline Document 2021/007 or GD07) provides detailed design guidance for soakage and groundwater recharge devices in Auckland. It is aligned with Auckland Unitary Plan requirements to achieve a resilient and sustainable outcome utilising the principles of water sensitive design.

The focus is on the design of soakage devices that either:

  • Manage the impact of stormwater quantity by disposing of stormwater to the ground (primary
    stormwater systems), or
  • Recharge groundwater in peat soil to avoid drawdown-induced settlement (groundwater recharge
    systems).

GD07 is an update of Technical Report 2013/040 - Stormwater Disposal via Soakage in the Auckland Region, and will supersede that document once it is included in the Auckland Council Stormwater Code of Practice. It aims to provide user-friendly technical design guidance for developers, designers and regulators based on current best practice specific to the requirements of the Auckland Unitary Plan.

GD07 has been prepared for use in the Auckland region. While many of the principles are universal and can be used elsewhere, the technical specifications have been developed for the geology, geography, climate, receiving environments and context of Auckland. Auckland Council, therefore, disclaims any responsibility for the use of GD07 outside of the Auckland region.

What new inclusions and approaches are in this guideline document?

The key new approaches in this document, relative to Technical Report 2013/40 Stormwater disposal via soakage in the Auckland region (Auckland Council, 2013), are:

  • Alignment with the requirements of the Auckland Unitary Plan (Auckland Council, 2018)
  • Alignment with the NZ Ground Investigation Specification (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment & New Zealand Geotechnical Society, 2017)
  • Alignment with the Auckland Council Stormwater Code of Practice
  • The Inclusion of climate change and best practice design guidance for soakage devices
  • Additional guidance on other device design considerations such as safety in design.. ...

January 2021

See also

Auckland Design Manual



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