Advice for application of the physiographic method to the West Coast Region

Land and Water Science Ltd. was contracted to provide services to West Coast Regional Council through an Envirolink Small Advice Grant. The aim of the project was to provide West Coast Regional Council staff with an understanding of potential benefits of application of the physiographic approach. Specifically, information provided in this report includes a summary of the key technical aspects of the physiographic approach, resource and sampling requirements, and consideration of that scale at which to apply the approach in the West Coast region.

The PENZ project (2017-2019) is seeking to apply the physiographic approach to other regions throughout New Zealand and requires additional sampling to be undertaken by participating regions. So that West Coast Regional Council staff could make an informed decision on participation in the PENZ project, they were provided with a breakdown of the scientific components of the physiographic approach and potential benefits in the context of land use and water resources management. If applied, the physiographic approach has a range of potential benefits to allow West Coast Regional Council, in particular, to more effectively manage and improve the quality of freshwater resources as required under the NPS-Freshwater Management (MFE, 2014).