State of the Environment Reporting using the DPSIR Model in the Waikato Region

Abstract

Waikato Regional Council (WRC) is responsible for sustainable management of the Regional Geothermal Resource, which encompasses approximately 70% of the nation’s total. It comprises 15 high-temperature systems and about 30 low-temperature system. There are 9 geothermal power stations in the region, generating 800 MWe (Figures 1, 3). Under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), WRC is required to monitor, keep records, and report on the state of the environment, including that of geothermal resources. In 2022 - 2023, WRC produced a set of State of the Environment reports, including one that examined the state and trends in nature, extent, and condition of the Regional Geothermal Resource (Luketina 2023), assessed against the internationally accepted DPSIR framework (Drivers, Pressures, State, Impact and Response model).
Degradation of geothermal surface resources through large-scale destruction of surface features and depletion of the geothermal resource by excessive extraction of the subsurface energy and fluid has effectively ceased since the RMA was enacted in 1991. Under the RMA the Waikato Regional Policy Statement (2016) and Waikato Regional Plan (2012) were developed, giving policies and rules to ensure sustainable management of natural and physical resources including geothermal resources.
However, ongoing small-scale destruction of geothermal features through inappropriate land use activities continues as a result of land use intensification. Ensuring that all uses of geothermal resources are sustainable is now more important than ever as we face increased pressure to use geothermal resources, for electricity generation and direct heat uses, and as intensification of land use and subdivision encroach upon rare and vulnerable geothermal ecosystems.
The adverse effects on geothermal resources of anthropogenic activity have been assessed for
the four major cause-and-effect dynamics acting on the Regional Geothermal Resource:
1. Effects of geothermal energy development on surface features and their dependent ecosystems;
2. Effects of geothermal energy development on amount of energy and fluid available for
future generations;
3. Effects of geothermal development on other uses of surrounding land and water; and
4. Effects of land uses on geothermal surface features and their dependent ecosystems.
Lack of funding for geothermal monitoring and research severely impairs the council’s ability to identify and respond to threats.