A water conservation order is a legal ruling to protect aspects of water bodies. It may be to protect the quantity of the water itself or for any issues relating to the water body as a whole.

New Zealand

In New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 a Water Conservation Order is used to protect the natural, cultural and recreational values of any water body.

There are currently 14 separate Water Conservation Orders:

• Motu River
  Motu River
  Motu River is a major waterway in the eastern portion of the North Island of New Zealand. It rises on the slopes of Maungahaumi on the southern side of the Raukumara Range south of Opotiki, heads east and cuts its way through the range and empties into the Bay of Plenty to the north.The Māori name...
  
  
• Rakaia River
  Rakaia River
  The Rakaia River is in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island. The Rakaia River is one of the largest braided rivers in New Zealand...
  
  
• Lake Wairarapa
  Lake Wairarapa
  Lake Wairarapa is a lake at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand, 50 kilometers east of Wellington. The lake covers an area of 78 km², and is the third largest in the North Island, fractionally smaller than Lake Rotorua...
  
  
• Manganuioteao River
• Lake Ellesmere
  Lake Ellesmere
  Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora is located in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is actually a broad, shallow lagoon located directly to the west of Banks Peninsula, separated from the Pacific Ocean by a long narrow sandy spit called Kaitorete Spit, or more correctly Kaitorete...
  
  
• Ahuriri River
  Ahuriri River
  The Ahuriri River is a river in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand.The headwaters are on the eastern flanks of the Southern Alps. The river flows for 70 kilometres through the southernmost part of the Mackenzie Basin before reaching the Ahuriri Arm of Lake Benmore, one of the...
  
  
• Grey River
• Rangitikei River
  Rangitikei River
  The Rangitikei River is one of New Zealand's longest rivers, 185 kilometers long.Its headwaters are to the southeast of Lake Taupo in the Kaimanawa Ranges. It flows from the Central Plateau south past Taihape, Mangaweka, Hunterville, Marton, and Bulls, to the South Taranaki Bight at Tangimoana, 40...
  
  
• Kawarau River
  Kawarau River
  Kawarau River drains Lake Wakatipu, in northwestern Otago, New Zealand. The river flows generally eastwards for about 60 km and passes through the steep Kawarau Gorge until it joins Lake Dunstan near Cromwell. The Shotover River enters it from the north; the Nevis River enters it from the south...
  
  
• Mataura River
  Mataura River
  The Mataura River is in the Southland Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is 190 kilometres in length.The river's headwaters are located in mountains to the south of Lake Wakatipu. From there it flows southeast towards Gore, where it turns southward...
  
  
• Buller River
  Buller River
  The Buller River is in the South Island of New Zealand. One of the country's longest rivers, it flows for 170 kilometres from Lake Rotoiti through the Buller Gorge and into the Tasman Sea near the town of Westport...
  
  
• Motueka River
  Motueka River
  The Motueka River is located in the north of the South Island of New Zealand and is a popular tourist destination for watersports and fishing. The Motueka flows from the mountains 40 km west of the city of Nelson in the southeast of the catchment and flows north to the Tasman...
  
  
• Mohaka River
  Mohaka River
  The Mohaka River is a river in the northern Hawke's Bay region of the eastern North Island of New Zealand. It flows east-southeast for 70 kilometres from the Ahimanawa Range, before flowing into Hawke Bay close to the settlement of Mohaka, 20 kilometres southwest of Wairoa.New Zealand's highest...
  
  
• Rangitata River
  Rangitata River
  The Rangitata River is one of the braided rivers that helped form the Canterbury Plains in southern New Zealand. It flows southeast for 120 kilometres from the Southern Alps, entering the Pacific Ocean 30 kilometres northeast of Timaru...
  
  

A water conservation order has been proposed for the Hurunui River

Hurunui River

The Hurunui River is the fourth largest of the four principal rivers in north Canterbury, New Zealand, with a catchment area of 2,670 square kilometres. The river flows from the eastern side of the Southern Alps, to the Pacific Ocean....

in the South Island.

External links

• Water Conservation Orders New Zealand Recreational Canoeing Association web pages describing New Zealand water conservation orders.
• Water Conservation Orders Environmental Defence Society RMA Guide web page.