Wellington Regional Council has identified community values and objectives to guide fresh and coastal water policy development. In over twenty workshops people identified commercial use values for the consumption of water to obtain a financial return. They had direct use values for activities that required contact or consumption of water without expecting a financial return. They had intrinsic values associated with the existence of waterway form and function unrelated to any expected practical or material benefit for humans. People also expressed indirect use values related to the contribution of water and waterways towards social and cultural well-being.