Self-help river maintenance - extract your own gravel

People can extract their own gravel from dry river or stream beds, provided they meet environmental standards and can gain access to the site through a public area or with the permission of the adjoining land owner.

Responding to a Far North District Council enquiry about gravel extraction, the Northland Regional Council has advised that up to 100 cubic metres of gravel per year can be taken from any one site as a permitted activity. There are certain provisos, including that it is not taken from a section of the riverbed covered with water; it is not causing erosion of the river bed or banks; and there is no refueling with the potential to spill oil or diesel in the river.

Far North Mayor Wayne Brown says many rivers benefit from gravel extraction as a means of preventing stream diversion and stream bank erosion. “It’s helpful for people to know they can take gravel from some Far North rivers, benefiting themselves and the environment,” he said. “The advice is timely, given the impact of recent storms and floods in our district.”

Northland Regional Council (NRC) Chairman Mark Farnsworth says the ‘pragmatic’ approach to gravel extraction has been adopted by the Regional Council’s Regional Water and Soil Plan.

Mr Brown says many of the sites where people have taken gravel from dry gravel banks in the Kaeo River are alongside Waiare Road and can be reached from the road. The sites are identified on resource consents held by the Northland Regional Council, which has previously posted a notice and map in their Whangaroa service centre advising people that they can take gravel from parts of the river. Two other sites in the area can only be accessed through private property.

The NRC has consents to extract from streams near Panguru and at Kaeo and can allow people requiring significant quantities of gravel to extract under their consents when applicable. It can also assist people who want to take gravel from other stream beds, even applying for a resource consent on their behalf if one is required. In such cases, signs could be erected directing people to the gravel extraction site and setting out relevant environmental performance standards.

Meanwhile, Mr Farnsworth suggests anyone wanting to extract gravel contact their local Regional Council office first to let the NRC know when and where they will be working.

“This will enable regional council staff to go over the performance standards that need to be met. It will also be a great help once work has started should the regional council receive inquiries or complaints from other members of the public about work being undertaken in a river.”