Water storage is one of the ‘magic bullets’

If there is one magic bullet guaranteed to transform the NZ economy it is water storage," says Fed Farmers water spokesperson, Hugh Ritchie. Federated Farmers is analysing the water storage potential of regions around NZ. In the Canterbury region alone it has identified water storage potential to supply ten cities the size of Auckland.  With water fundamental to any agricultural system, water storage is needed to keep grass growing over lean summer months.  The Federation contends this will lead to an agricultural and economic transformation generating billions of dollars in export earnings. "The Opuha Dam in South Canterbury is a good example of what we mean.  In October, the Opuha Dam Water Management Project was the supreme winner of the 2008 Canterbury Resource Management Awards.  It is a sustainable water storage project supported by Fish and Game, local Iwi and the community.   "Compared with road building the cost of water storage is a bargain, but one that delivers farmers' much needed water to irrigate, recreational anglers' new places to fish as well as habitat for wildlife.   "We know from the Opuha economic study that for every dollar generated on-farm as a result of water storage, $8.30 in economic benefits flowed into the wider economy.  Those are not just farmer benefits but benefits for everyone in New Zealand.  It stands to reason that come summer, when the grass stops growing, farmers either dry off or de-stock. That drop in productivity also drops the living standard of every New Zealander.  Water storage will turn this around.  Canterbury is an excellent case in point given the spectre of drought is reappearing after heavy rain and snowfall over winter.  New water storage and increased water take from some existing rivers has potential to irrigate a further 325,000 hectares of land.  That expands the productive land in the Canterbury region by a full third.  We are not talking massive projects but modest schemes like the award winning Opuha Dam.   "Even if all of Canterbury's town water was to be supplied and every singe hectare of farmland on the Canterbury Plains irrigated, only 12% of the water in Canterbury currently running out to sea would be utilised.  That gives some scale to the amount of water that exists."NZ is not like Australia as we don't lack for water it's that we don't bank the stuff.   "NZ needs to keep the grass growing as there is an economic impact if we don't.  Last season's drought cost the economy $1.2 billion so if we just spent some of that figure on water storage infrastructure, everyone wins.