Greig Taylor, Freshco director, says the Hawke's Bay Regional Council's new water allocations are based on incomplete data and will leave growers unable to grow effectively. Photo / Warren Buckland
Greig Taylor, Freshco director, says the Hawke's Bay Regional Council's new water allocations are based on incomplete data and will leave growers unable to grow effectively. Photo / Warren Buckland
Hawke’s Bay growers say the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council risks harming the region’s economy if it implements newly proposed water allocations they claim are based on incomplete data.
Yet the council says the environmental risks of pausing are greater and it would be unfair for other stakeholders whowant to move forward.
“Despite being in official mediation with 16 appellants, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council issued new water allocation estimates in December 2023 to land users under Tank guidelines,” the statement said.
What is the Tank Plan and what does it have to do with water allocation?
Research in the 1990s revealed that the water taken from the aquifer exceeded the rate it recharged.
A working group of 30 members from industry, stakeholders, NGOs and tangata whenua found the best way to achieve the necessary reduction in the water allocation was the “actual and reasonable use” approach.
This work culminated in the council’s Tank Plan change nine, a plan for the Tūtaekurī, Ahuriri, Ngaruroro and Karamū water catchments overlaying the Heretaunga aquifer (hence the name Tank).
The plan was notified in September 2020 and reviewed by an independent hearing panel in 2021, which endorsed the new allocation method.
Mediation is scheduled to be completed in December and Environment Court hearings will be held in 2025, but parties could appeal the court decision to the High Court, potentially creating further delays.
About 800 consent applications in the Heretaunga Plains have been lodged and are waiting to be processed.
Growers say decisions made with incomplete data, could hurt local economy
Greig Taylor, Freshco director, said growers were concerned because the proposed water allocations were insufficient for many to grow effectively.
“If we can’t irrigate on some of the most productive soils in the world then we can’t grow food and we certainly can’t grow it economically. That means we don’t create jobs and we don’t create income for all of us and then we have an issue around food supply as well.”
He said the proposed water allocations were based on incomplete data and did not account for better practices in place across the region, making it inaccurate.
“We are just asking for [the council] to push pause while the mediation is completed and hopefully some of these questions we all have hopefully become clearer and we can all move forward.”
Greig Taylor, Freshco director, said the proposed water allocations would hurt food production and jobs for Hawke's Bay. Photo / Warren Buckland
Council - ‘Risks of pausing’ higher than continuing
Katrina Brunton, council policy and regulation group manager, said the council was required to process consents “without unreasonable delay”, but many consent applications have already been on hold since 2019.
“We consider the risks of pausing to be higher than that of continuing,” Brunton said.
Allowing current consents to continue created a risk that too much water will be drawn in a dry year, impacting river flows and the ecosystem.
Landowners may unintentionally invest in developments for which there is no, or less, future water available and sales may be held up due to uncertainty around water allocation.
The council also believed a pause would be unfair to applicants who want to move forward and other affected parties who want reductions introduced now including Forest and Bird, Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, Mangaroa, and Omahu Marae.
Brunton said the council was willing to enter into discussions if an alternative method to the “actual and reasonable use” approach was shown to be viable.
“In the meantime, council must continue to process the consents that are currently on hold in an attempt to provide the certainty desired by applicants and to begin to respond to the negative environmental impacts the current allocation method is having.”
Callum Ross, chief executive of the Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers Association, said the current approach of the council “risks turning our region into a dust bowl”.
“Our growers are deeply concerned that these new water allocations could jeopardise the sustainability of our industry, impacting not only its viability but also the community and future generations,” he said.
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on the environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz
