40 | Te Tai Tokerau Water: Otawere Reservoir MCMILLANDrilling Established since 1947, McMillan’s have steadily grown to become one of New Zealand’s largest and leading multifaceted drilling companies. www.drilling.co.nz South Island Phone: +64 3 324 2571 Fax: +64 3 324 2431 email : admin@drilling.co.nz North Island Phone: +64 9 238 5138 Fax: +64 9 238 5132 email : admin@mcdni.co.nz 16HMDG20161110 Creating tailored innovative foundation solutions explore, strengthen, sustain Ensuring the accurate assessment of complex ground conditions including ultra-sensitive 7.5MPa range and high capacity 15cm2 CPT cones sCPTu + sDMT T T Karen Phelps Regional benefits of new reservoir The Otawere Reservoir will hold around four million cubic metres drawing on approximately 160 hectares of natural catchment and harvesting water from two nearby streams during periods of high flow. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT The Otawere Reservoir near Kerikeri is filling with water and on track to supply growers by summer 2026/27 with the kiwifruit sector already taking a keen interest. “We have shareholders in the scheme who grow kiwifruit already and have had other enquiries as well. It seems to be getting a lot of interest around the kiwifruit sector,” says Ben Craw, Manager of Finance and Commercial Affairs at Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust. The reservoir will hold around four million cubic metres drawing on approximately 160 hectares of natural catchment and harvesting water from two nearby streams during periods of high flow. Its dam embankment was constructed from material sourced on site before being lined with HDPE liner. Ben says that over the next 18 months, the trust plans to extend the pipe network from the Otawere Reservoir, widening the area it will service from as far east as Pakaraka to west of Kaikohe. He explains the extended infrastructure will provide water for up to 1,300 hectares of horticultural development, creating employment opportunities across the region. Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust was established in June 2020 in response to a persistent paradox: Northland receives above-average annual rainfall, yet the region has recorded official drought conditions six times since 2009, and in the summer of 2020, water supplies to several large urban communities came perilously close to running dry. Without storage, the valuable water that falls on the whenua drains off to the sea. The trust’s two earlier reservoirs demonstrate what is now possible. The Matawii Reservoir near Kaikohe, completed in 2023 at a cost of $16 million, covers about 18 hectares with a capacity of 750,000 cubic metres. It is fully operational, supplying a nearby berry farm and businesses at the Ngawha Innovation and Enterprise Park, and has served as a backup water supply for Kaikohe town, having been called upon last summer to prevent water restrictions from taking full effect. Matawii was also the first project nationally to be granted consent under the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020. The Kaipara’s Te Waihekeora Reservoir, officially opened late last year, holds 3.3 million cubic metres and is already supporting three new avocado businesses, maize growers, and Kaipara hapū Te Uri O Hau among its shareholders. Further funding has since been secured to extend its pipe network to the back of Dargaville, enabling it to supply Silver Fern Farms and other commercial users. Ben says economic modelling points to significant regional benefits. The Mid North scheme could create up to 440 new jobs and lift the value of regional output by $178 million, while the Kaipara scheme is projected to generate up to 437 new jobs and add $220 million to its regional economy. “At the heart of everything we’re doing is the belief that these water schemes are being developed for the benefit of the communities.” The trust has received $68 million from the Provincial Growth Fund — $8.5 million as a grant and the remainder as a loan — alongside support from Kānoa, the Northland Regional Council, and the Far North District Council. For Ben, the commercial ambition is inseparable from the community purpose behind it. “At the heart of everything we’re doing is the belief that these water schemes are being developed for the benefit of the communities,” he says. Those wishing to register interest in water allocations are encouraged to contact the trust directly.
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