Otawere Reservoir opens as El Niño brings dry spells

Detailed summary

The opening of the four-million-cubic-metre Otawere Reservoir near Kerikeri completes a three-reservoir network more than a decade in the making, with supporters saying it could…

The Otawere Reservoir, the largest built by the Te Tai Tokerau Trust, has been officially opened.

Northland now has enough stored water to fill more than 3200 Olympic-sized swimming pools. But the real test of the region’s $100m water strategy is just beginning.

The opening of the four-million-cubic-metre Otawere Reservoir near Kerikeri completes a three-reservoir network more than a decade in the making, with supporters saying it could transform the Mid North and Kaipara through new jobs, horticultural growth and greater drought resilience.

Otawere has opened as a very strong El Niño arrives, with Earth Sciences NZ expecting more frequent dry spells in Northland through to January.

Regional Development Minister Shane Jones opened it last month. It can hold more than twice the volume of Whangārei’s Whau Valley Dam and is the third and largest built by Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust.

With Matawii, near Kaikohe, and Te Waihekeora in the Kaipara, the trust can now store about eight million cubic metres. Once piped to the land, that water gives the Mid North and Kaipara a supply for the dry months and a way into higher-value crops.

“Collectively, the three reservoirs should be a gamechanger for Northland, with a significant impact on economic growth and employment opportunities on the western side of the region, where it is most needed,” trust chair Murray McCully said.

The trust was set up in July 2020 to deliver the schemes, which have been backed by the Government, councils, water users and Tupu Tonu, the Ngāpuhi investment fund.

The work began in 2013, when Northland Regional Council started looking at water storage. In 2019, Jones, then Regional Economic Development Minister, announced Provincial Growth Fund money.

Opening of the article, excerpted from NZ Herald. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.