Northland water storage plans back on boil

Northland Regional Council is now exploring irrigation options for the region under the Provincial Growth Fund. Photo / File

Irrigation NZ chief executive Andrew Curtis says irrigation development has the potential to significantly boost the Northland economy.

Plans for a new Northland irrigation scheme which could cost up to an estimated $100 million to $300m went on the backburner when the Labour-led coalition Government earlier this year wound down public subsidies for large-scale irrigation projects, other than honouring commitments to existing schemes in the works.

However, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has since made it clear the Government would consider applications for water storage and use under the Provincial Growth Fund, so the Northland plans are again on the boil.

Back in 2016 the previous National Government had welcomed $165,000 in Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd funding to scope irrigation scheme options in Northland. The previous year the Ministry for Primary Industries had contributed $75,000 toward a report examining the potential of irrigation in Northland which had identified that, with a reliable water supply, the region had a natural advantage for high-value horticulture as the climate allowed the growth of subtropical fruit.

Northland Regional Council economist Darryl Jones said the Northland proposals had not fitted in with Government criteria for Crown Irrigation funding and the council was now exploring the possibility of the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) financing the project.

This NRC move has the support of Irrigation NZ chief executive Andrew Curtis, who told The Country: "We would like to see the merits of irrigation projects such Northland irrigation development options considered through the PGF along with other projects being put forward.

"Irrigation development has the potential to significantly boost the economies of rural areas and townships in Northland.

"There is much Maori land in Northland and the development of irrigation would allow the value of this land to be realised to create jobs and improve wellbeing for many communities.''

Irrigation reservoir Lake Manuwai at Kerikeri has helped provide 1300 additional jobs since its creation in 1983. Photo / Supplied

Curtis said the Northland Strategic Irrigation Infrastructure Study predicted that developing new water storage could create up to 2700 jobs for the region. This would have a flow-on benefit for communities through creating more demand for local businesses and services, boosting household incomes and helping revitalise rural townships.

"We support the approach the Northland Regional Council is taking which is looking for water storage options which achieve a range of benefits to growers, the community and the environment," he said.

"As well as creating a significant number of jobs and creating additional wealth for communities, the water storage options could also be designed to offer flood protection, to provide community water supplies for townships and to supplement river flows in times of dry weather."

The study indicated that additional water storage could help grow crops like avocado, oranges, potatoes, kumara, lettuce — as well as being used to provide some resilience for pastoral farming.

"Nationally, we have a limited amount of land that is suitable for growing fruit and vegetables and some of this land is being threatened by urban expansion," Curtis said.

"Northland has a good year-round growing climate as its relatively warm, frost-free and has rich soils. It has quite high rainfall in comparison to many regions, but it will increasingly experience dry spells and droughts. Climate change is also expected to result in more frequent heavy rainfall and flooding so it makes sense to look at storing water for when its needed and combine new water storage infrastructure with flood protection."

New Zealand also had a growing population. Curtis said that in 50 years the country would be home to another two million people so planning was needed to produce more food and create more employment opportunities in the future.

"Irrigation is critical for food production internationally as 20 per cent of the world's agriculture land is irrigated but this produces 40 per cent of the world's food," Curtis said.

"If we don't invest in more water storage we are likely to be facing higher food prices, particularly during increasingly frequent droughts as well as relying on more imported foods."