No Spray Register

Each year Council periodically sprays to control vegetation on its road reserve areas, within water channels and side drains, parks, reserves and pavements. This helps keep our local network tidy and ensures our services like drains are well maintained and free flowing. The operational area includes the entire Horowhenua District local road network, excluding State Highways.

For a variety of reasons, people may not wish to have herbicides sprayed outside their property. If this sounds like you, you can apply to have your property listed on the Council’s No Spray Register which will mean that we will not spray directly outside your property.

No-Spray Register Council Requirements

If either yourself, or the persons residing at your address wish to be registered to avoid chemical control of weeds on the street berm/kerb and channel, drains (open and swale), culverts and marker pegs adjacent to the address. This means that you will continue to be responsible for the maintenance of weeds on the property berm and in the kerb and channel, drains (open and swale), culverts and marker pegs.

Your responsibility will be the following;

  • Vegetation within 600mm of edge marker posts and around guardrails, sight rails and culvert headwalls is maintained so it doesn’t exceed a maximum height of 150mm.
  • The road reserve is maintained free of plant pests.
  • Vegetation in and around surface water channels, side drains, cut-out drains and culvert waterways maintained to ensure free flow of water with growth height not exceeding 150mm.
  • Vegetation on or around footpaths, kerb and channel, road furniture, fences, edge strips and other structures within road reserve controlled to maintain a tidy appearance of the asset.

Failure to maintain the area to the above standard may result in the removal of the zone from the No Spray Register and the resumption of spraying by Council’s contractor.

 

Online

Step 1.Have your details ready 

You will need your Assessment or Valuation Number of your property this can be found on you latest Rates Instalment Notice or on the Rating database Search page.

Step 2.Complete the form online

Update No Spray Register

Please note:
Once you have joined the no-spray register, Council will assume this remains in place and will need you to update the no-spray register if your circumstances change and you need your details updated or to be removed from the register.

In person

Step 1.Have your details ready 

You will need your Assessment or Valuation Number of your property this can be found on you latest Rates Instalment Notice or on the Rating database Search page.

Step 2.Visit your nearest Council Office

Pop into your nearest Council office:

  • Levin (Main Office), 126 Oxford Street, Levin, open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and on Wednesdays 9.30am to 5pm (except public holidays).
  • Foxton Service Centre, 92 Main Street, Foxton, open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (except public holidays).
  • Shannon Service Centre, Plimmer Terrace, Shannon, open 10am to 12 noon and 1pm to 5pm Monday to Friday (except public holidays).

FAQs

Survey pegs/ markers are used to mark out residential boundaries and indicate points and positions of a site. They are usually made of wood (although some are made of metal or plastic) and come in different sizes and coloured tops.

Council’s contractor places two small discs/ marker pegs on each end of your boundary to help identify where the No-Spray begins and ends. We rely on you to keep these visible and undamaged.

Please contact Customer Services Team on (06) 366 0999 or email us at enquiries@horowhenua.govt.nz and we will arrange for our contractor to repair or replace them at no charge.

If your property is registered, it means that you are now responsible to mange weeds and vegetation within the agreed berm, kerb and channel adjacent to your property boundary to Council specifications.

Council advises the Contractor that your property has been added to the no Spray Register List. This can take up to 2 weeks from advising us until it comes into effect.

We want to know if you are moving so that we can let our contractors know if they need to remove the property off the no-spray register. It is up to the new resident to advise us if they want to be added on to the no-spray register.

You can advise us at any time if you want to be added, removed or have your details updated. We will also contact you annually during the growth season to remind you of what is required to remain on the no-spray register.

Swales are located in areas which can fully drain and are typically dry. Swales can also be headlands or access tracks that are not used regularly for farm traffic. Drains are located on flat or backwatered locations which results in them holding water.

A swale is an engineered ditch with very specific slopes, bottom width and soil requirements. A ditch is a v-shaped open channel. A culvert is a drain pipe under the road. All three are designed to quickly move rain off of roadways.

A headwall is a small retaining wall built at the inlet or outlet of a storm water drainage pipe or culvert pipe. Industries put them in place to reduce any erosion to the pipe and surrounding area caused by the constant flow of water.

Kerb and channel is a concrete structure, typically located at the edge of a road. It is designed to provide road drainage and prevent water entering under the road surface, which helps council to maintain road condition and reduce the amount of potholes and road defects.