Business South August 2020

20 | Volume 29 | Issue 4 businesssouth REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT » North Otago Irrigation Company Irrigation scheme brings huge benefits Russell Fredric • to page 22 T he expansive network under the management of North Otago Irrigation Company (NOIC) has had a profoundly positive economic effect on the district, chief executive Andrew Rodwell says. “There have been a couple of studies done on that which have shown that irrigation has profoundly changed the dynamics of Oamaru town itself and the Waitaki district generally.” The downstream effects of the scheme are significant - farming is now reliable from season to season, instead of being seriously affected during drought years, leading to a more stable urban economy for Oamaru and stable rolls for rural schools in the district. The area under the scheme, officially opened in October 2006, averages around 520mm of rainfall a year. “Irrigation is like having rain on demand at the times and in the precise amounts you need. This means producers can set budgets and expect to achieve them, with 95% reliability. “Banks love this, processors love this and farm- ers love this “Consistency attracts investment; people want to farm here, people want to invest in the region.” The result is intergenerational farming, new people being attracted to the region, school rolls rising and secondary employment in processing, manufacturing and retail. “It’s like all boats lifting on a rising tide.” The North Otago Irrigation Company scheme comprises $150 million of infrastructure and takes water from the Waitaki River. It enters the scheme via Borton’s Pond (at an intake shared with the Lower Waitaki Irrigation Scheme) and pumps it to 160m above the river through two pump stations. Four 2.5MW motors at each station can lift as much as 8,000 litres of water per second up to the Head Pond. From there gravity and a series of 12 booster pumps distributes water across an area of 65,000ha, down the Waiareka and Kakanui Valleys, with the scheme extending as far south as Herbert. Water is distributed to about 175 farmer-share- holders. A major attraction of the scheme is that the water is delivered on-demand and under pressure to farm boundaries and in almost every case no further on-farm pumping is required. “Irrigation is like having rain on demand at the times and in the precise amounts you need. This means producers can set budgets and expect to achieve them, with 95% reliability.”