About the Heretaunga Water Storage Project
Already there is a gap between Hawke’s Bay’s demand for water and the environment’s ability to reliably supply it. This gap between supply and demand is forecast to grow unless action is taken and it is projected to be exacerbated by the impacts of a changing climate. (Read the HBRC Climate Change Risk Assessment reports here.)
Already there is a gap between Hawke’s Bay’s demand for water and the environment’s ability to reliably supply it. This gap between supply and demand is forecast to grow unless action is taken and it is projected to be exacerbated by the impacts of a changing climate. (Read the HBRC Climate Change Risk Assessment reports here.)
Without a structural intervention to improve water security, Hawke’s Bay’s economic engine - one of New Zealand’s most productive and important food-growing areas - faces reduced reliability, stalled development, constrained iwi economic participation, and ecological decline.
The Heretaunga Water Storage Project is investigating the feasibility of building a reservoir on a small tributory to the Ngaruroro River on farmland at Whanawhana. The reservoir would hold 27 million cubic metres of water, harvesting peak winter flows and storing them for release into the Ngaruroro River and Heretaunga’s lowland streams during the summer months of peak water demand.
This additional water would, first and foremost, offset the environmental impacts of summer groundwater extraction, supplementing flows in the Ngaruroro River and lowland streams, and supporting natural recharge of the Heretaunga aquifer.
At this scale, the proposal would not only support Heretaunga’s natural environment and existing businesses and communities, but could unlock additional water supply for the region’s economic growth. The population is projected to grow and unlocking access to new water represents an important opportunity to ensure more equitable access to water.
The benefits of a more secure water supply would benefit all residents of the Heretaunga region. The costs of the development would be met by those who benefit most from the water, primarily irrigators and industrial / commercial water users.
The proposed scheme is located at the top of the Heretaunga catchment, ensuring the stored water remains within its original catchment. The proposed reservoir is designed as a dedicated local solution to Heretaunga’s water security challenges; it does not seek to address water security challenges in any other parts of Hawke’s Bay.
This short video of the proposed site, shows its proximity to the Ngaruroro River, which it will supplement in summer.