An access road that will allow construction to begin on the 750,000 cubic meter Matawii reservoir near Kaikohe will be complete by the end of next month.
The new 1km access road is being built by Far North Roading Limited and currently employs ten people. It would also assist development of the Ngawha Innovation and Enterprise Park being developed by Far North Holdings on the same site.
Matawii, which is being built by the Tai Tokerau Water Trust, is due to commence operation early next year and will be the first in what is planned to be a much larger scheme of multiple, inter-connected reservoirs in the Mid North region. Work to progress the other potential reservoir sites that are planned to follow Matawii is also gathering pace.
Surveying had begun on a potential site near Waimate North which could provide a 4.1 million cubic meter reservoir. Members of the Trust had also joined with Okirihi tangata whenua for a cultural blessing at another potential site north-west of Kaikohe prior to work there also commencing. The site, on Mangatoa Landcorp station, which could store 2.6 million cubic meters of water, would now undergo exploratory geotechnical drilling to help determine if the Trust could proceed with plans to develop the reservoir.
The entire Mid North scheme could eventually provide water for the development of up to 3000ha of new high-value horticulture and had the potential to create many employment opportunities in the region. The scheme would also be available to provide a back-up water supply to Kaikohe.
“It is vital we get on with this important work of building water storage and resilience for our communities in the North. We all know it’s not getting any wetter up here in the summer months and if we don’t act now, we’ll continue to suffer water shortages every year. This region and its people can’t develop economic opportunities without access to water,” Trust deputy chair Dover Samuels said.
The Trust had also called for tenders for works associated with the development of the irrigation distribution networks for the Mid North and Kaipara Water Storage scheme.
In the Kaipara, the Trust is planning to commence work on its first small reservoir in a matter of months. This would be located near Te Kopuru and would later be enlarged over summer 2021-22 into a much larger facility. It had also called for expressions of interest from parties interested in using water for horticultural production in the area.
The Trust plans to have a presence and be available to discuss its plans with interested parties at the Northland Field Days in March.
ENDS 
About Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust
The Trust has been established for the purpose of progressing the Northland Water Storage & Use Project from feasibility into implementation. It consists of two separate water supply areas that are being developed in parallel: in the Mid North in and around Kaikohe and along the Pouto Peninsula southwest of Dargaville, in the Kaipara. Its objective is to create the infrastructure needed to promote sustainable land-use change to high-value horticulture which will in turn lift the prosperity of local communities and offer an alternative source of water for municipal supply.
For more information contact: info@taitokerauwater.com