We have an opportunity to turn the Hurunui into a lush and green productive area.  Today it is a dry, sparsely-populated district that tourists find attractive, but the land is unable to sustain growth because of ongoing drought.  Change is afoot, as the farmers in the area rise to the challenge of improving production and meeting global needs for food. There is plenty of water, but in the wrong places.

Why Water Storage?

Storing water would allow 42,000 hectares in the district to be irrigated, and flows in the Hurunui River could be boosted and toxic algae flushed away. We are proposing a community irrigation scheme with hydro power generation based on Lake Sumner and the South Branch of the Hurunui River. Find out more about our thinking and how you can be involved. 

Moratorium

The project supports the Government's announcement of a moratorium on consent applications to take water from the Hurunui River, including the project’s own resource consent application. 

"Last year we called for the legal process to be put on hold while the consultative process of the CWMS was worked through and we are pleased that the Minister has now endorsed that approach. We now have one collaborative process to work with, rather than three legal processes, and the moratorium gives everyone interested in the Hurunui River breathing space to start talking." Read more from Mike Hodgen, Chairman, Hurunui Water Project.

Investment 2010

The Hurunui Water Project is close to issuing a prospectus. While details are still under wraps, we can report strong interest from rural banks, potential investors and business supporters. We intend the offer of ordinary shares will eventually be linked to water right shares when resource consent is approved. The project is likely to use the funds to progress the resource consent and Water Conservation Order processes. Keep an eye on Investment 2010 which will be updated regularly.

V5 Award

Being acknowledged as a winning V5 initative marks a major step forward for the Hurunui Water Project. The announcement on 11 March means the project will receive free professional advice to further the project's development. The inaugural V5 competition, backed by the Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce and Canterbury Development Corporation, identified initiatives that could generate in excess of $100 million for Canterbury. For further information see our media release.

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