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$48 million public money committed to Ruataniwha dam …with more to come!
- Wise Water Use
- Apr 12
- 3 min read
$48 million public money committed to Ruataniwha dam …with more to come!
And, Hawkes Bay ratepayers could be paying MORE in increased Regional Council rates – up to 10% - if the dam was to proceed.
Read on, then SIGN OUR PETITION
The Ruataniwha dam promoters are addicted to public money! Wise Water Use has recently discovered that dam front-persons, local farmer Mike Petersen, and past-CE of the ill-fated *Waimea Dam, Mike Scott, asked CHB District Council for MORE public money at a public-excluded workshop held on January 29 2026.
*The cost for Waimea dam blew-out almost threefold from a budgeted $78 million to $211 million, and the owners recently went cap-in-hand to government seeking a $100 million bailout.
A response from Council to a request for information made under the Local Government Official Information Meetings Act states:
“TWSL indicated that they would appreciate any support Council could provide for the feasibility study, noting that this support could take different forms, such as political advocacy, letters of support, and/or a financial contribution.” (answer to Q. 1, para. 4. WWU LGOIMA No 1)
Note that CHB District Council has since 2019 committed $88,000.00 ratepayer money to the Ruataniwha dam, plus an unknown sum from $250,000.00 committed that year for ‘water resilience’.
Wise Water Use has crunched the numbers on total public money committed to the Ruataniwha dam since it was first proposed over 15 years ago, and with the coalition government’s generous ‘loan’ of $18 million announced last week that total comes to $48 million (WWU Report no. 1)!
That’s $48 million:
Without a sod of earth being turned in over 15 years!
Without a survey of local farmers to establish if there is even any demand for what will surely be the most expensive water in the country!
Without any details about who will be liable for repaying the $18 million ‘loan’ in the event that the dam was not to proceed, say if diesel and urea were to remain scarce and costly due to the conflagration in the Middle East!
It’s also worth noting that Mike Petersen has stated publicly: “This is a commercial project …we are not seeking public investment into this project at all.”
Hardly – here we have a private company wanting to build a dam that will harm our environment due to the intensive farming necessary to pay for the water, and with public money, for private profit!
Alarm bells should be sounding to ratepayers and taxpayers caught in a cost-of-living crisis and an unfolding energy crisis, with a tone-deaf coalition government hell-bent on splashing money on their pet projects!
The next call for public money will likely come by way of a request to the Regional Council to pay for 20 Mm3 water for so-called ‘environmental flows' (which don’t work). The dam promoters need the public to pick up the cost of this 20 million Mm3 of dam water so the remaining 80 Mm3 water will be affordable for irrigators. Paul Bailey has crunched the numbers and estimates an up to 10% rate increase (WWU Report no. 2) should the Regional Council agree to pick up this cost.
Wise Water Use is getting in first by seeking a commitment from our current Regional Council to not entertain this idea, in the extremely likely event that they are approached by the Ruataniwha dam builders.
We will be presenting the petition to the Regional Council on Wednesday 29 April.
Trevor Le Lievre
Spokesperson, Wise Water Use HB
Acknowledgement:
Wise Water Use is now receiving refreshingly honest and open responses to questions lodged with Council under LGOIMA from interim Chief Executive Ross McLeod, under the leadership of Mayor Will Foley. New regime, fresh approach – refreshing!
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