{"id":15458,"date":"2021-02-05T11:14:28","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T22:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/new-zealand\/?p=15458"},"modified":"2024-07-12T11:51:17","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T23:51:17","slug":"wairakei-pastoral-the-dairy-company-competing-with-auckland-for-drinking-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/wairakei-pastoral-the-dairy-company-competing-with-auckland-for-drinking-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Wairakei Pastoral: The dairy company competing with Auckland for drinking water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Should one big dairy corporation, owned by millionaire rich-listers, be allowed to take more water from the Waikato River than the entire city of Auckland? We say NO WAY!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

An exclusive Greenpeace investigation has uncovered that Wairakei Pastoral Limited – a dairy company owned by elite Auckland property investors – has the rights to take more water from the Waikato River than Auckland drinking water supplier, Watercare. Wairakei Pastoral is owned by ten (very rich) people.<\/p>\n\n

Now, Watercare gets water from other sources, too. But especially in times of drought, like now, Watercare relies on water taken from the Waikato River for a third of Auckland\u2019s drinking water.  <\/p>\n\n

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Deforested areas of land cleared as part of Wairakei Pastoral’s mega-farm near Taupo, 2008.\n\nPhoto \u00a9 Greenpeace \/ John Cowpland<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Just how much water is Wairakei Pastoral taking from the Waikato?<\/h4>\n\n

Information released to Greenpeace from the Waikato Regional Council shows that Wairakei Pastoral can take up to 153 million litres per day from the Waikato River. Watercare has the right to take around 152 million litres per day, which is about about a third of Auckland’s total supply in the last 12 months.
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A million and a half Aucklanders are doing their bit by carefully conserving water. Schools are turning off sprinklers. People are growing their veggies with water from the washing machine or the bath. And yet here\u2019s a giant dairy corporation taking more water than everyone else in Auckland combined, all so they can make more milk powder and turn a quick buck.<\/p>\n\n

One and a half million Aucklanders have to compete with ten wealthy owners of a dairy company to get their drinking water from the Waikato River.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

As the climate crisis intensifies, it\u2019s likely we\u2019ll see more frequent and intense droughts. The Mad Max idea of \u2018water wars\u2019 hits a little too close to home at the moment, with Hawkes Bay facing yet another parched summer and Northland residents having to buy in water by the tankful. According to the UN, as many as 5 billion people worldwide could experience water shortages by 2050.<\/p>\n\n

When water becomes a precious resource, how do we ensure that everyone can access the clean water they need to survive?<\/p>\n\n

First school week and its hot. School usually runs the sprinklers for the kids to cool down, but there is the water shortage… meanwhile a dairy company Wairakei Pastoral can take more water from the Waikato River than all 1.5 million Aucklanders. https:\/\/t.co\/spjz4BPBLf<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Russel Norman (@RusselNorman) February 4, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>\n