Photo: RNZ / Cosmo Kentish-Barnes
A farmer-owned earth dam near Fairlie provides reliable irrigation for 16,000 hectares of farmland in South Canterbury. It also has a seven megawatt power station that contributes to the local electricity network. The 50-metre high structure was completed in 1998 and Opuha Water chief executive Andrew Mockford says it has boosted the local economy well beyond the farm gate.
