As summer ends and we head towards winter, our thoughts are moving more towards rain events rather than drought. Cyclone Gabrielle has certainly focused us on flood infrastructure and resilience, but the critical importance of managing our water resource is still top of mind as we look to support our region’s environment, its people and its industry. 

As a Regional Council we are exploring opportunities for water use reduction and storage, but it can be hard to understand the role of HBRC in water management. This is how I see it..

Regional councils are responsible for protecting, managing, and regulating activities relating to natural resources. When it comes to water, that means ensuring its allocation remains within sustainable limits. To that end, HBRC commissioned a Regional Water Assessment, which was finally released in 2022. This report modelled our current understanding of available water resources and projected various scenarios over the next 30 years. Some models suggested water use might decline or remain stable, but the accepted projection indicated a shortfall of approximately 30 million cubic meters.

The report outlined a range of potential solutions, including:

• A water storage facility
• Industrial water recycling
• Domestic water reduction (New Zealand has one of the highest per capita water use rates among Western countries)
• Addressing leaks in district council networks and investigating rainwater tanks for housing
• Improved horticultural and agricultural water efficiency
• Regenerative farming techniques to enhance soil water retention
• Even desalination (though the cost makes this unlikely)

Ideally, over the past two years, we would have seen active development of these initiatives. However, Cyclone Gabrielle significantly disrupted progress. However, HBRC has continued exploring water storage opportunities and we expect to have more information available to the ratepayer on this in the near future.

Additionally, recent research into the Ngaruroro River suggests that widening parts of the riverbed could naturally recharge our aquifer by up to 15 million cubic meters per year – an intervention with potentially significant benefits at relatively low cost. This project demands urgent investigation.

For me, transparency is key. Ratepayers deserve clarity on how their money is spent. It’s also crucial that we don’t focus solely on water storage, but advance all viable water-saving initiatives.  We should be addressing all the points above and actively work with our partner councils and groups to stage next steps in actioning the issues.

One of the biggest challenges we face is the difficulty in getting new working groups off the ground. Every council is financially stretched, and staff are still heavily involved in cyclone recovery efforts. Despite these constraints, we must prioritise planning for a future with less water and take responsibility for our usage — whether personally, in industry, or in the primary sector. Imagine if we could develop a certification for products from Hawke’s Bay that demonstrates we are a water-responsible region, one that respects and values water and uses it accordingly.

With local elections approaching in October, my focus is on getting these projects moving so the next council has a solid foundation to build upon. Preparing for the next big dry across multiple projects that both reduce water usage and store water isn’t just important – it’s essential for our environment, our people, and our economy.

Sophie Siers
HB Regional Councillor for Heretaunga
021 082 00788
[email protected]