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Two water pipeline projects in drought-hit Northland are set to receive government loans totalling more than $40 million, with the trust leading the work saying it will transform local economies - and solve Dargaville's ongoing water supply woes. Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has announced a $17.5m loan to build a 22km pipeline from the newly built Waihekeora Reservoir to Dargaville, which is currently in the grip of level 4 restrictions forbidding all but essential water use.
Jones also announced $24m to build a pipeline connecting the huge Otawere Reservoir, due to be completed in the coming months near Waimate North, with Matawii Reservoir built near Kaikohe two years ago. All three dams had been built by Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust with loans from the former Provincial Growth Fund. The new funding, which would have to be repaid, would come from the Coalition Government's Regional Infrastructure Fund.
Jones said the two projects would significantly increase Northland's water security and unlock economic growth. Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust chairman Murray McCully said the 22km Kaipara pipeline would provide water to about 3000ha of potential horticultural land between Te Kopuru and Dargaville, as well as to Silver Fern Farms' processing plant at the eastern end of Dargaville township. The plant was the biggest employer in the area but struggled to maintain the water supply it needed to operate throughout summer.
From there, the Kaipara District Council would build a pipeline to its water treatment plant, which currently relied on the drought-sensitive Kaihu River. McCully said not only would the scheme allow farmers along the flats south of Dargaville to access irrigation water, it would also make Dargaville's water shortages a thing of the past. "The town is suffering under these level 4 water restrictions and is, I think, hanging out for a solution.
We're pleased to be able to provide it." It would, however, not fix the current water shortage. McCully expected the pipeline to be completed in summer 2026-27, in time for any drought in 2027.
The scheme could also supply light industrial users in Dargaville and potentially farms on the other side of the Wairoa River. McCully said one of the ways the loan would be repaid was by selling shares in the Kaipara Water Company, with users owning and operating the project in the long term. "We've got some initial shareholders close to the reservoir, and you can see avocado orchards planted just across the road.
We've also seen farmers using their full entitlement to water over summer, and the word's getting around about that. So the weather's been doing some marketing for us," McCully said. The project could be expanded in future, if required, by adding more small dams at relatively low cost.
"We see this as a very exciting day for Dargaville because it does solve the headline water problem we've been reading about. It also creates an opportunity for land use conversion between Te Kōpuru and Dargaville, lifting production and providing additional employment. This is a scheme that is able to transform the economy around Dargaville over the next decade or so," he said.
Kaipara Mayor Craig Jepson said he was thrilled by the news. Establishing a secure water supply on the western side of the district had long been a problem, and staff had investigated various options over the years - but all came at significant cost. Jepson said the council was grateful to Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust for building the pipeline to Dargaville, giving the council access a more consistent and reliable water supply in future.
Meanwhile, the Otawere pipeline project further north would connect the 4 million cubic metre, $47m Otawere Reservoir with the existing 750,000 cubic metre Matawii Reservoir. Jones said the 15km pipeline would create a "water corridor" across mid-Northland, unlocking another 1600ha of highly fertile land between Waimate North and Kaikohe. "The government's investment in water is addressing barriers to development in regions like Northland, where a consistent water source is needed to unlock economic, environmental, and recreational resources for its communities," he said.
As part of the Kaipara project, Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust and Kaipara District Council would combine pipeline construction with the $7.8m Dargaville to Te Kōpuru stopbank upgrade, an existing Regional Infrastructure Fund flood resilience project. Jones said combining the two projects could save $3 million and speed up completion.
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