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Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, on behalf of the community, has been investigating the potential of water storage in the Ruataniwha area. This project is at feasibility stage, which means that it is very early days. This phase is expected to take 2 years, so no
decisions have been made on whether or not to go ahead with some, or even any, of the dams. The project team and stakeholder
and leadership groups will provide information as and when it is available.
This edition of the Ruataniwha Water Update mainly focuses on the progress of the Ruataniwha Water Storage
Study.
Proposed Dam Site Landowners’ Meeting
A meeting was held at the Onga Onga Golf Course on 31 May to provide an
overview of the Ruataniwha Water Storage project to potentially affected land
owners. This gave landowners the opportunity to have questions answered
about the proposed dams.
Decisions on which dams will and will not go ahead are going to take time to
make, and the Regional Council agreed to inform landowners as soon as sites
are eliminated. Nominations were accepted for landowner representation on
the Ruataniwha Stakeholder group, and Duncan Holden and Andrew Watts
accepted these positions following a show of hands vote.
6 Month Project Plan for Water Storage
Many aspects of the complex feasibility study for the water
storage dams are underway:
Planning for the environmental programme for the water storage project has begun. This is to determine what new work is
needed, and dovetailing existing relevant work.
One of the studies the Regional Council has underway which
will be a crucial part of the project, is the modeling of ground
water and surface water interactions. This will aid in better
decision making around water management for the Ruataniwha basin. It will be used to assess potential outcomes of
various water management scenarios.
The effects of water storage, and use, on ground water quality will also be assessed and will have two main focus points:
firstly, how abstracting surface water from rivers could potentially alter the recharge of surface water into groundwater;
secondly, the effects of potential land use change as a result
of irrigation water being available. This work will continue beyond the six month stage.
Regional Council’s existing State of Environment (SOE) database will be a significant source of information for surface water quality and aquatic ecological health data. Current
work on surface water minimum flows will also be used.
Hui for the Cultural Impact Assessment are due to take place
over the next couple of months. This will provide information
on culturally significant locations that may affect the proposed
water storage. This is for the information gathering phase of
the consultation process.
In the next six months, there will be focus groups to assess the
potential demand for water in the different irrigation zones.
Council will also survey various horticultural and agricultural
industries to determine interest in producing in the Ruataniwha area.
There are many more studies underway, or due to start, that
will feed into this water storage project - assessment of effects
on terrestrial ecology, recreation, and landscape values; as
well as traffic and noise effects associated with dam construction. Updates will be brought to you as and when information
is available.
Stakeholder and Leadership Groups
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has established two groups to provide oversight and guidance to the Council on the Ruataniwha
Plains water storage project as it is developed over the next two years.
The Stakeholder Liaison Group will provide guidance to the
Council on the fit of the project within the community - by
assessing social, cultural water use efficiency and environmental issues, opportunities and solutions.
The Stakeholder Group has met once already and formally
agreed their terms of reference. This group also initiated the
meeting in Onga Onga on 31 May for potentially affected
landowners.
Appointments to the Stakeholder Liaison Group include Debbie Hewitt -
Chairman
Jan Hania
Dept of Conservation
Tom Belford Tukituki Liaison
Mike Mohi Tamatea Taiwhenua
Liz Graham Tamatea Taiwhenua
Trish Giddens CHB, Mayor
Alan Dick HBRC, Chairman
Duncan Holden Landowner Representative
Andrew Watts Landowner Representative
Murray Boaler Fish & Game HB
John Cheyne Fish & Game HB
John Scott Tukituki Liaison Group
Campbell Chard Ruataniwha Water User Group
Phil King
Ruataniwha Water User Group
Max Chatfield Forest & Bird CHB
Dan Elderkamp Forest & Bird CHB
Brian Eccles Jet Boating NZ, Central Districts
The Project Leadership Group has met twice to date. They
will provide oversight and guidance to the Regional Council’s project management team. In particular, they will focus
on the critical market, economic and financial issues for the
project.
They have formally agreed their terms of reference, and
provided substantial guidance on the Council’s project management.
The Council took guidance from MAF, the Council’s Maori
Committee Chairman, and the Ruataniwha water user group
in appointing the following people to the Project Leadership
Group Sam Robinson Chairman
Dr Roger Maaka Iwi Advisor.
Gordon Price
Ruataniwha Water User Group Rep
Richard Dakin
Ruataniwha Water User Group Rep
Jim Scotland Chairman, Port of Napier Ltd
Andrew Bayly
PriceWaterhouseCooper
Regional Councillors –
Tim Gilbertson - Central Hawke’s Bay; Ewan MacGregor - Hastings;
Fenton Wilson - Wairoa.
Geotech work complete
The Geotechnical Mapping and Seismic assessment work has just recently been completed on the 6 dam sites identified in the
prefeasibility study, arguably the most revealing work done on the project to date. This showed that a number of the initial sites
are not suitable due to instability and seismic activity. Further alternative sites originally identified have also been investigated.
A report will be available soon. Owners of those properties now eliminated from the study will be notified by mail or phone.
Water User Group – Metering and Telemetry
Management of project
On behalf of water users, the Ruataniwha water user group
has been working with Regional Council on various issues.
The new Government regulations requiring consent holders to have compliant water measuring devices installed is
one of the larger issues being worked through. The committee has been working with Council on this topic and issues
around the use of telemetry.
The Regional Council will manage the storage dam proposal
project through their Executive Management team including the Chief Executive, Andrew Newman, and Water Initiatives Group Manager, Bruce Corbett. Internal Council staff
capacity in water management, engineering, hydrology and
science will be used, as well as external experts in geological engineering, cultural and social impact assessment, cost
benefit analysis and environmental impact assessment.
Please Talk it Over with Us ...
We welcome contact from landowners wanting to talk over any issues, concerns or funding ideas.
Bruce Corbett, Group Manager Water Initiatives, 06 835 9204
Kelvin Ferguson, Water Information Services Manager, 06 833 8050
Monique Benson, Water Management Advisor, 06 833 8069
Janine Dunlop, Water Management Advisor, 06 833 2638