A new $26 million water reservoir has been officially opened in Northland, part of a wider plan to future-proof the region against increasingly severe droughts.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today opened the Te Waihekeora Reservoir near Dargaville.
The facility can hold 3.3 million cubic metres of water, enough to irrigate around 1100 hectares of farmland. It is the second of three major storage projects being developed by the Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust.
Te Waihekeora is the second of three major reservoirs planned with the largest, Otawere at Waimate North, due to be completed later this year.
The trust is also planning a 22km pipeline from Te Waihekeora to Dargaville, which would extend the scheme’s reach from Te Kōpuru and improve water security for the township.
Currently sitting at about 85% capacity, the reservoir stores water harvested during peak river flows, which can then be released to farmers and growers in dry periods.
The project was backed by a $35 million loan from Kānoa, alongside support from Northland Regional Council and private investors.
Relief for drought-prone country
It's part of a wider plan to future-proof the region against increasingly severe droughts. (Source: 1News)
Northland has endured repeated dry summers in recent years, with farmers facing heavy losses and towns like Dargaville forced into tight water restrictions.
Backers of the scheme have said that storing more water in winter and releasing it in summer would be essential to building resilience in the region.
But while it's been on the table since 2018, the infrastructure project faced hurdles under the Resource Management Act before being fast-tracked through special legislation.
"You know, basically it's a bunch of community people and a bunch of leaders that decide irrespective of the RMA, which has been hamstringing this country and wrapping it up in red tape and green tape," Luxon said at today's opening, adding that the scheme was about economic growth and creating jobs in the region.
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones described it as "future-proofing" the region.
“It is now the chance for the leaders of the Kaitaia, the landowners – whether it's this generation or the next generation – to seize the opportunity," he said.
Trust chairman Murray McCully said while the project relied heavily on loan funding, it was designed as intergenerational infrastructure. "We’ve got a commercialisation project ahead of us to pay the money back," he said.
"In 20- and 30-years' time, people will wonder what the fuss was about."
Not everyone is celebrating though.
The Dargaville Residents and Ratepayers Association has lodged complaints with the Ombudsman and Auditor-General, warning the scheme could increase costs for ratepayers and hand control of water to private trustees.
But local iwi see it differently.
Dover Samuels, representing Te Uri o Hau, called the reservoir a taonga for Māori landowners in the region.
"All the Māori landowners around this area now have a resource that they can tap into."
Other supporters believe the new infrastructure will unlock significant horticultural potential in Kaipara, enabling the shift of land into high-value crops and creating more local jobs.
Hapū Te Uri o Hau and Lynwood Nurseries are among the shareholders, with avocado orchards already being planted on nearby land.
For orchard workers like Cruz, the scheme is already making a difference.
"[It's] not just us – there’s another avocado orchard next door who run off the scheme; there’s another avocado just up the hill that run off the scheme," he said.
He said the water storage has also helped create his job and provide work for his young son.
"Now my young fella's here at school holidays now and he's coming to do avocados with daddy," he said.
"He’s been spreading snail bait and stuff like that for the last couple of days."
The trust said at least 440 jobs have been created so far.
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