Carterton Council Homing In On Water Resilience

Thursday, 10 April 2025, 6:52 pm
Article: Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter

Carterton District Council is seeking Government support for a water storage project in Waingawa that will bolster water supply during dry months for industrial and agricultural use.

It would make use of existing water race infrastructure, the consent for which was currently being underutilised “by not taking roughly 10,000,000 cubic metres of water annually”, a council report said.

This was because only a small amount of water was taken during winter.

At the start of the year, the council engaged engineering consultant Vitruvius to determine what feasible water storage opportunities there were at 145 Norfolk Rd near the Waingawa industrial estate.

Of five potential options, the preferred one was a 270,000 cubic metre combined process water and irrigation water storage project.

The cost estimate was $14.89 million, for which the council was seeking external funding.

Carterton Mayor Ron Mark said the council had “been brave in this water space” and that all indications were that this would be “a very viable, feasible business opportunity”.

Councillor Brian Deller said he fully supported the project and that it was important that the council created more opportunities for existing businesses and new ones.

“The way I see it, water is life and without life, we are nothing.

"We’ve got the land, we need the water."

The project would provide more opportunities for businesses requiring heavy water use in the 120 hectares of industrial zoned land, and allow for land use changes of up to 450ha of land for industrial or agricultural use, which would support food and fibre processing industries.

“The combined water storage solution supports both agricultural resilience and industrial expansion while leveraging available water allocations,” the Vitruvius report said.

“It aligns with Carterton District Council’s strategic vision and ensures long-term economic benefits for the region.”

It described the potential water storage solution as a “lagoon” that could also offer up recreational use.

Carterton District Council is seeking support from the Regional Infrastructure Fund, and would appoint Vitruvius to develop a business case at a cost of $100,000 excluding GST.

This phase of the project would be funded through reserves or potential operational savings at the end of the financial year.

The business case was scheduled to be completed by the end of April.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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