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Regional | Farmers

Farmers push for Ruataniwha water storage project

Today’s meeting was packed out by almost 100 Hawke's Bay farmers, their main aim being to hurry the council along with the Ruataniwha water storage project.

The $265 million water storage project would see a dam able to hold up to 91 million cubic metres of water in the upper Makaroro River. That's enough to potentially irrigate over 20,000 hectares of farmland, but the Greens are opposing the project, saying more intensive farming would produce more harmful runoff into waterways.

If the project gets the green light construction of the dam could begin as soon as December, and be completed by October next year.