Waihekeora Reservoir in June, when it was still filling up with winter rain. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
A major irrigation dam in a drought-prone corner of Northland is to be opened this morning by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
Te Waihekeora Reservoir will store 3.3 million cubic metres of water, enough to irrigate 1100 hectares of land and allow the development of high-value horticulture in an area where jobs are in short supply.
The lake, which is now 85 percent full, is located 20km south of Dargaville in the hills of the Pouto Peninsula.
It is the second of three reservoirs being developed by Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust, which was founded in 2020 with a loan from the government's Provincial Growth Fund.
The first, the 750,000 cubic metre Matawii Reservoir, was completed in 2023 and is already supplying water to a berryfruit venture and a peruperu farm at Ngāwhā, just east of Kaikohe. LINK:
The third and largest reservoir, the 4 million cubic metre Otawere, is due to be completed near Waimate North, between Kaikohe and Kerikeri, later this year.
Trust chairman Murray McCully, a former foreign minister, said the opening of Te Waihekeora was a milestone in Northland's journey towards greater water security and economic growth.
The $26m reservoir was part of a wider $37m irrigation scheme that pumped water into the lake from drains emptying into the Wairoa River when flows were high.
In summer, as the Kaipara District dried out and river levels dropped, the water could then be used to irrigate crops.
Waihekeora Reservoir under construction. Photo: Supplied/Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust
Local hapū Te Uri O Hau and Lynwood Nurseries, a major producer of avocado seedlings, were shareholders in the scheme and had already planted avocado orchards nearby on what used to be a dairy farm.
McCully said Te Waihekeora had been built with a $35 million loan from Kānoa (the government's Regional Economic Development and Investment Unit), a $1.35m loan from the Northland Regional Council, and the remainder from investors using the water.
McCully said the debt would be repaid as the scheme continued to be commercialised.
"This project is about creating opportunities," he said.
"Just as Kerikeri's reservoirs unlocked a horticultural boom four decades ago, Te Waihekeora will drive new investment, jobs, and sustainable growth for Kaipara and the wider Northland Region."
Currently the scheme's reticulation network extended as far as the town of Te Kōpuru, but McCully said the Trust had obtained funding to extend the pipeline all the way to Dargaville.
That would allow irrigation of the river flats south of Dargaville and improve water security for the town, which was subject to water restrictions almost every summer.
Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust chairman Murray McCully at Waihekeora Reservoir, south of Dargaville, in June. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Last summer Dargaville residents faced level 4 restrictions, which banned all water use except for essential hygiene, drinking and cooking purposes.
However, the new reservoir would not - at this point anyway - directly supply the town with drinking water.
Last week a spokesperson for Kaipara District Council revealed an agreement had been signed with the Trust a month earlier, allowing industrial customers currently using council water to switch to untreated water from the new dam.
That would ease pressure on the council's water supply and help reduce the need for future water restrictions in Dargaville.
The council would contribute $1.5 million towards the cost of building the pipeline, as well as an annual payment of up to $675,000 from late 2027.
The spokesperson said the partnership agreement left the door open for further collaboration between the council and the Trust, such as the direct sharing of water.
Thursday's opening ceremony was expected to bring together Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust shareholders, iwi growers, and community and government leaders.
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones will also attend.
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