10 | REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust � Kim Newth Reservoir set to turbocharge growth Funding sources for the Otawere scheme include the Far North District Council and Northland Regional Council, with cornerstone government loan funding from Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit. T T to page 12 Under construction this year, south-west of Kerikeri, is Northland’s newest water storage reservoir – Otawere. The $47 million project, which is due to be completed this August, is poised to turbocharge high-value orchard growth near Kerikeri, the region’s horticultural hub. A 2019 report identified a need for water storage development in Northland, not only to serve as a catalyst for regional growth, but also to provide resilience for municipal water supplies. Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust was set up in 2020 to help meet this need. The trust’s first project was Matawii Reservoir, north-east of Kaikohe. Providing water to the shareholders of the newly formed Kaikohe Water Company, the water scheme was officially opened in May 2023. “Matawii is the smallest of our three water storage reservoirs: it can hold 750,000 cubic metres, with the ability to irrigate up to 250 hectares of horticultural land,” says Ben Craw, relationship manager, Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust. “Late last year we completed our second reservoir in Kaipara, Te Waihekeora Reservoir, and that’s 3,300,000 cubic metres. It already has some new avocado developments around it. Otawere will be even larger at 4,000,000 cubic metres of water storage with the ability to irrigate upwards of 1300 hectares.” Funding sources for this latest scheme include the Far North District Council and Northland Regional Council, with cornerstone government loan funding from Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit. “The mechanism for paying back that loan contribution is achieved by selling shares in the scheme,” Ben says. Being on the doorstep of Kerikeri, the new Otawere Reservoir has exciting potential. Up until now, this fertile land around Waimate North and Okaihau has not been suitable for high-value crops like kiwifruit, because it lacked a reliable water supply. That is now set to change. KleenScreenTM manufactures self-cleaning intake screens to protect pumps and systems fromorganic and inorganic debris. The KleenScreenTM range is designed to performbetter, last longer and also be simple tomaintain. We have standardmodels and variations to cater for all installations. The KleenScreenTM range continues to be the only type of rotating self-cleaning intake screen that is produced in stainless steel as standard. KleenScreenTM has enabled us to become the preferred self-cleaning screen supplier to the NewZealand pumpingmarket and nowdue to the quality of our systems, our products are in demand internationally. Available fromyour local pumping equipment supplier nationwide DAMAManufacturing Ltd, Whangarei +64 27 493 3183 | info@kleenscreen.com | www.kleenscreen.com Proud to have assisted with securing the consents for Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust Northland based for 25 Years Landscape Design Landscape and visual assessment Simon Cocker Registered Landscape Architect PO Box 222, Whangarei 0140 P 09 430 3793 M 027 4788812 E simon@scla.nz W www.scla.nz Lance Magee 021 998 503 Mark Magee 021 277 5479 Office 07 826 3044 office@proearth.co.nz Proudly supporting Te Tai Tokerau Water
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