New Zealand has its first national wastewater standards - after Cabinet agreed to new rules that will come into force on December 19. Previously, public wastewater plants needed to get consent from the relevant regional council, which decided based on its interpretation of the Resource Management Act. Now those councils will all have to make consent decisions using the national standards - and they cannot enforce a higher standard. Steve Carne, director of Taonga Water Advisory, explains how the new standards will work.
Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
