As described in this 4-minute video prepared by Patrick O’Sullivan, with accomanying HB Today article, here is a water harvesting scheme for the Heretaunga Plains proposed by farmer Mike Glazebrook.

This proposal is to take water from the Ngaruroro River during high flows and store it at two existing sites for release when summer water is scarce to support both irrigation and stream flows.

Potentially wins for both Heretaunga waterway ecosystems and growers. As I say in the video, from a 50,000 foot perspective, the scheme looks to be win/win.

That said, much more feasability work needs to be done and, if the scheme indeed looks viable, it will need to be scrutinsed by all stakeholders, the public and HBRC through the normal consenting process.

This needs to be seen as a complement to the proposed TANK plan, which prohibits dams on the Ngaruroro and Tutaekuri Rivers and four of their key tributaries, as well as precluding any new water extraction from the Heretaunga aquifer.

HBRC has secured $14m from the Provincial Growth Fund to explore small scale water harvesting, storage and augmentation schemes like this.

From what you see in the video, what do you think?

Tom Belford

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