Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Hawke's Bay mayors voice support for Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme

By Nicki Harper
Hawkes Bay Today·
29 May, 2017 01:15 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Hawke's Bay mayors are calling for dam progress. Photo / File

Hawke's Bay mayors are calling for dam progress. Photo / File

With a recent independent review of the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme complete and the Hawke's Bay Regional Council set to consider further information about investing in the project, Hawke's Bay mayors are calling for progress.

Napier mayor Bill Dalton said the dam would benefit the whole of Hawke's Bay and enough time had been spent looking at the proposal.

"Just get on and build it. It's the one single thing that in my lifetime will be a complete game changer for Hawke's Bay's economy."

He acknowledged that the recent review report had identified some areas of risk, but said there would always be risk with a project such as this.

"If you try to eliminate all of them it will never be built.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"That's the job of the management team - to minimise and mitigate those risks - you don't not go ahead with something like this just because there are risks.

"This dam would provide irrigation to allow crops to be grown in CHB we have not even thought about yet, and all of that produce will go through the Port of Napier to be exported.

"The benefits will flow for CHB farmers and producers to the processing industries, the workers for which will come from across all of Hawke's Bay."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hastings mayor Lawrence Yule said $25 million had been spent on the project to date and that it needed to happen.

"The thorough peer review has set some new boundaries around such things as water takes but it did not find any unknowns.

"If you look at what's going to happen with climate change and opportunities around food production I think this is a no-brainer."

Industrial land that had been freed up by the Hastings council, such as at Irongate, was already being eyed by people keen to set up value-added businesses, but they were waiting for certainty, he said.

Discover more

Moves afoot for Ruataniwha Dam

30 May 10:00 PM

Environmental condition put on dam

01 Jun 05:15 AM

"Some people have been holding off on their decision-making regards that land until they understand what's happening with the scheme."

Mr Yule said he had every confidence in the regional council's and the farmers' technical ability to adapt so that the nutrient and environmental risks were managed.

Central Hawke's Bay mayor Alex Walker said it was a transformational project that would benefit the whole region from Central Hawke's Bay to the Port of Napier.

"This is about diversification, not just doing the same old thing - it's about diversifying the way we use land, coupled with environmental management, and consequently the markets we operate in.

"It's an opportunity to be bold in an area that the whole of New Zealand is working on - we have a chance to lead in this space."

Tomorrow the regional council will consider whether to reconfirm, or accept some modified and new conditions precedents before making a decision about its intended investment in the scheme.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The project was currently still in front of the Supreme Court over a proposal to exchange some Department of Conservation land for the dam.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Hawkes Bay Today

In the palm of his hand – the rise of a third top NZ men's shotputter

Hawkes Bay Today

'I feel aggrieved': 92-year-old online shopper's warning after supermarket meat purchase

Hawkes Bay Today

How new speed limits are making Hastings schools safer


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Premium
Premium
In the palm of his hand – the rise of a third top NZ men's shotputter
Hawkes Bay Today

In the palm of his hand – the rise of a third top NZ men's shotputter

You know Tom Walsh and Jacko Gill, but a third Kiwi could join them at the world champs.

16 Jul 06:00 PM
'I feel aggrieved': 92-year-old online shopper's warning after supermarket meat purchase
Hawkes Bay Today

'I feel aggrieved': 92-year-old online shopper's warning after supermarket meat purchase

16 Jul 06:00 PM
How new speed limits are making Hastings schools safer
Hawkes Bay Today

How new speed limits are making Hastings schools safer

16 Jul 03:49 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP