11 Jun 2018

Ruataniwha irrigation take concerns regional council boss

From Morning Report, 6:17 am on 11 June 2018

The head of the Hawke's Bay Regional Council is concerned about a major increase in the amount of water farmers may be able to access for irrigation from an aquifer in the Ruataniwha Basin. The Board of Inquiry, which looked at the Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme and now defunct damn plans, ruled that an additional 15 million cubic metres of water could be taken. Eight groups have applied for that water but local residents say that would increase the consented water-take by 53 percent and it's not sustainable. The Regional Council's chief executive James Palmer spoke to RNZ reporter Nita Blake-Persen about the plans.