{"id":67059,"date":"2024-10-30T16:01:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T03:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/?p=67059"},"modified":"2025-05-16T07:48:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T19:48:39","slug":"the-ruataniwha-dam-what-is-it-and-why-has-it-been-renamed-to-the-tukituki-water-storage-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-ruataniwha-dam-what-is-it-and-why-has-it-been-renamed-to-the-tukituki-water-storage-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ruataniwha Dam: what is it, and why has it been renamed to the Tukituki Water Storage Scheme?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Recently, Aotearoa took a frightening glimpse of one of its first-ever zombies. Lurking in the Ruahine Ranges in Hawkes Bay, the Ruataniwha Dam, once dead in the water, looks set to rise from the grave.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-but-what-is-the-ruataniwha-dam-and-why-is-it-so-significant\"><strong>But what is the Ruataniwha Dam, and why is it so significant?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>The Ruataniwha Dam is a key piece of infrastructure in a proposed intensive irrigation scheme which would dam the clear waters of the Makororo River and flood 22 hectares of unique conservation land. Here\u2019s a video we made about it in 2017.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The floodlands\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/nugR-63mBwM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Ruataniwha Dam would flood 22 hectares of conservation land. Greenpeace spokesperson Gen Toop travelled to the area that would be flooded back in 2017 to explain why it&#8217;s so important that the dam does not go ahead.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>The water from this dammed river would be used for irrigation, which would drive the large-scale conversion of farmland into dairying. Hawkes Bay, a region that experienced the country\u2019s worst-ever waterborne gastro outbreak, which made an estimated 5,500 sick and killed four people, would become home to thousands more dairy cows and their effluent.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.stuff.co.nz\/media\/images\/9Tzi8ywRz924XE3uHaD6DfGZQfjEdZd7oKlsiR53VLHvSZExpMzuRmKdwHbkL9PkKdUHaKfFCgrWAAqhe%2FBhMe3r++ia6QN0aSFEr9xOPJ2BGZrlYzMpjpk88dndjqSW0%2FB5H7CdId3553nVIXeanJ4XkMB0wFrZD5tYXnarAmJ+JnHwf24By3IPYVDK9l5t?resolution=1240x700\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An artist&#8217;s impression of the proposed Ruataniwha dam, which would be created near the foothills of the Ruahine Forest Park in Central Hawke&#8217;s Bay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>Greenpeace campaigned to stop the Ruataniwha Dam for many years, alongside local allies and environmental organisations &#8211; and we won.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"693\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2016\/09\/46a86d67-gp0stqgt1_pressmedia-1-1024x693.jpg\" alt=\"Greenpeace activists wearing high vis use a crane to unload the Ruataniwha Dam site office - a shipping container which has a sign attached reading 'return to sender' - at the Hawke's Bay Regional Council building.\" class=\"wp-image-2449\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2016\/09\/46a86d67-gp0stqgt1_pressmedia-1-1024x693.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2016\/09\/46a86d67-gp0stqgt1_pressmedia-1-600x406.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2016\/09\/46a86d67-gp0stqgt1_pressmedia-1-768x520.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2016\/09\/46a86d67-gp0stqgt1_pressmedia-1-502x340.jpg 502w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2016\/09\/46a86d67-gp0stqgt1_pressmedia-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ruataniwha Dam site office with sign that reads &#8220;Return to Sender&#8221; being unloaded from truck by Greenpeace crew in front of Hawkes Bay Regional Council building.<div class=\"credit icon-left\"> \u00a9 Nigel Marple \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>We won that fight for good reason. The Ruataniwha Dam would put the Hawke\u2019s Bay region into significant debt, flood precious conservation land, and dam a wild river, harming aquatic life and reducing the amount of water flowing on to the Waipawa and Tukituki rivers.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-but-now-the-ruataniwha-dam-is-back-under-the-fast-track-bill\"><strong>But now, the Ruataniwha Dam is back &#8211; under the fast-track bill<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>The Ruataniwha Dam was deemed illegal, and so since 2017, the consents to proceed with building this dam have been useless &#8211; but under a Luxon Government, euphemistically named \u2018water storage schemes\u2019 are back.<\/p>\n\n<p>Dams have always been highly unpopular and prone to being successfully stopped by local communities. So, Bishop and Luxon are trying to give dams a makeover. But make no mistake, a \u201cwater storage scheme\u201c is just a dam dressed up in more benign-sounding words.<\/p>\n\n<p>Luxon and Bishop are using the corrupt, anti-democracy fast-track legislation to push the Ruataniwha Dam project through without having to worry about the illegality of setting the dam up in the first place. The Ruataniwha Dam is a private development and it\u2019s already consented, but the developers need the Fast Track to give them access to the Department of Conservation land that the court ruled against last time.<\/p>\n\n<p>But to get around the public opposition to the \u2018Ruataniwha Dam\u2019, the developers have renamed the project to the \u2018Tukituki Water Storage Scheme\u2019.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-s-the-difference-between-the-tukituki-water-storage-scheme-and-the-ruataniwha-dam\"><strong>What\u2019s the difference between the Tukituki Water Storage Scheme and the Ruataniwha Dam?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>In short: nothing changes. The local council claims that the Tukituki Water Storage Scheme is investigating ways to improve water security, but their own documents make it clear that they\u2019ve already made up their mind and plan to proceed with the dam.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-so-what-s-the-big-deal-with-dams-like-the-ruataniwha-anyway\"><strong>So, what\u2019s the big deal with dams like the Ruataniwha, anyway?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>Large-scale dams are a horror story no matter which way you look at them. They are high-cost, high-risk white elephants that fail both the economic and environmental test. They lock farmers into expensive dependence, driving unsustainable intensification that ultimately makes them less resilient.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"693\" src=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2016\/09\/dcdb3e12-img_0828-cow-tap-billboard-1024x693.jpg\" alt=\"A Greenpeace ign reading 'Dam wrong' and 'stop Ruataniwha' with an image of a cow with a tap coming out of its rear end.\" class=\"wp-image-2599\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2016\/09\/dcdb3e12-img_0828-cow-tap-billboard-1024x693.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2016\/09\/dcdb3e12-img_0828-cow-tap-billboard-600x406.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2016\/09\/dcdb3e12-img_0828-cow-tap-billboard-768x520.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2016\/09\/dcdb3e12-img_0828-cow-tap-billboard-502x340.jpg 502w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2016\/09\/dcdb3e12-img_0828-cow-tap-billboard.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><div class=\"credit icon-left\"> \u00a9 Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p>When freshwater is dammed or diverted away from fragile river ecosystems into irrigation schemes, the water is not used for drought resilience. Instead, the water is used to convert new land into water-hungry intensive dairy or to intensify existing land-use, in arid regions, leading to less drought resilience, not more.<\/p>\n\n<p>That\u2019s because one of the only ways farmers can afford to buy into these expensive schemes is to convert the farm to intensive dairying. Dams are big, ugly, hulking pieces of infrastructure that cause major ecological disturbance to the river in which they are built. But they also have serious downstream consequences for the rest of the waterways in the catchment.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-irrigation-and-dairy-pollution-harm-people-as-well-as-the-rivers\">Irrigation and dairy pollution harm people as well as the rivers.<\/h2>\n\n<p>New Zealand already has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/tag\/freshwater\/\">too many cows causing havoc to the health of freshwater and rural people<\/a>. Nearly half of the country\u2019s rivers are too dirty to swim in. A mere two in every hundred lakes are considered in good health. More than two-thirds of native freshwater fish are on the verge of extinction. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/freshwater\/nitrate-contamination-in-drinking-water-what-you-need-to-know-and-some-frequently-asked-questions\/\">Drinking water in some rural communities is becoming increasingly contaminated with nitrate<\/a>, and in many cases, is already above the limit officially considered safe for drinking.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p>Industrial dairying and big irrigation is trashing New Zealand\u2019s waterways.&nbsp; And the very worst thing we could do now is build more giant irrigation schemes that will compound the problem.<\/p>\n\n<p>If the Ruataniwha dam goes ahead, it will have ramifications for the future security of clean water right across New Zealand.&nbsp; Several think-big irrigation schemes designed to expand industrial dairying are planned throughout the country and their promoters are hoping Ruataniwha sets a precedent and gets the green light.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-is-the-ruataniwha-important-right-now\"><strong>Why is the Ruataniwha important right now?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<p>In late 2024, the Central Hawkes Bay District Council transferred the resource consents to build the Ruataniwha Dam &#8211; or, as it\u2019s been rebranded to, the Tukituki Water Storage Scheme- to a newly-established community trust.<\/p>\n\n<p>The transfer of these consents to a charitable trust is a desperate attempt to resurrect the Ruataniwha Dam. That&#8217;s because the Council and developers are greenwashing the vehicle as a \u201ccommunity trust\u201d. There is no evidence for the Council\u2019s claims that the community will benefit from the revenue gained by licensing the consents to a commercial third party. Not only that, there is a real risk that the community will pay the price in the event of environmental disaster.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<p>Additionally, the community trust is exempt from responsibilities under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987. We can&#8217;t request information, meeting minutes or agendas by right, like we can for Council meetings, and we don&#8217;t know what decisions are being made behind closed doors. This lack of transparency\u00a0is beneficial for corporations because it means that they don\u2019t have to worry about public blowback for pushing ahead with decisions that the public opposes.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-local-community-is-opposed-to-the-ruataniwha-dam\">The local community is opposed to the Ruataniwha Dam.<\/h2>\n\n<p>Local opposition is already present, and growing. On the <a href=\"https:\/\/letstalkchb.co.nz\/hawkes-bay-water-trust-discussion-forum\/\">platform set up by the local council<\/a> to seek community input, there was a massive outpouring of opposition to the Trust and the dam.<\/p>\n\n<p>We will continue to fight to stop the Ruataniwha Dam, just as we have for the last decade. And we\u2019ll do that alongside our allies in the Hawkes Bay community. People across Aotearoa are opposed to big irrigation dams destroying the rivers, lakes, and forests that they hold dear &#8211; and we will make our voices heard.<\/p>\n\n<p>If the Ruataniwha Dam proceeds under the fast-track bill, we\u2019re willing to stand against this destructive development. We\u2019re calling on everyone to join us &#8211; will you add your name to our open letter to companies who plan to use the fast-track to bypass democracy?<\/p>\n\t\t\t<section\n\t\t\tclass=\"boxout post-65557  sticky-bottom-mobile collapse show\"\n\t\t\tid=\"action-card\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Image\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"cover-card-overlay\"\n\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/petition\/petition-stop-the-fast-track-open-letter\/\" \n\t\t\t><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2024\/08\/04877b85-gp0su0zhp_medium-res-with-credit-line-cropped.jpg\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsrcset=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2024\/08\/04877b85-gp0su0zhp_medium-res-with-credit-line-cropped-600x424.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2024\/08\/04877b85-gp0su0zhp_medium-res-with-credit-line-cropped-768x543.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2024\/08\/04877b85-gp0su0zhp_medium-res-with-credit-line-cropped-481x340.jpg 481w, https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-aotearoa-stateless\/2024\/08\/04877b85-gp0su0zhp_medium-res-with-credit-line-cropped.jpg 981w\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tsizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 358px, (min-width: 780px) 313px, 88px\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\talt=\"Large crowd with banner reading Stop the War on Nature.\" title=\"Large crowd with banner reading Stop the War on Nature.\"\n\t\t\t\t\/>\n            \t\t\t<div class=\"boxout-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"boxout-heading medium\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-action=\"Title\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/petition\/petition-stop-the-fast-track-open-letter\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tOpen Letter to Stop the Fast Track\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"boxout-excerpt\">Sign on to this open letter to industry now to help push more of them to opt out of the Fast Track.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t                                    <a\n                        class=\"btn btn-primary\"\n                        data-ga-category=\"Take Action Boxout\"\n                        data-ga-action=\"Call to Action\"\n                        data-ga-label=\"n\/a\"\n                        href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/petition\/petition-stop-the-fast-track-open-letter\/\"\n                        \n                    >\n                        Add my name\n                    <\/a>\n                \t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"not-now\"\n\t\t\t\t\trole=\"button\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-bs-toggle=\"collapse\"\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#action-card\"\n\t\t\t\t><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Ruataniwha Dam could come back from the dead &#8211; but what is the Ruataniwha Dam, and why is it such an environmental catastrophe?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":2449,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_planet4_optimize_post_is_variant":false,"_planet4_optimize_experiment_name":"","_planet4_optimize_variant_name":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[19,22,111],"p4-page-type":[6],"class_list":["post-67059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greenpeace","tag-food-and-farming","tag-freshwater","tag-fast-track-approvals","p4-page-type-story"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.8 (Yoast SEO v26.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What is the Ruataniwha Dam, and why is it such a disaster? - Greenpeace Aotearoa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Ruataniwha Dam - renamed the Tukituki Water Storage Scheme - is back from the dead. But what is the Ruataniwha Dam?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/aotearoa\/story\/the-ruataniwha-dam-what-is-it-and-why-has-it-been-renamed-to-the-tukituki-water-storage-scheme\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Ruataniwha Dam: what is it, and why has it been renamed to the Tukituki Water Storage Scheme?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Ruataniwha Dam - renamed the Tukituki Water Storage Scheme - is back from the dead. 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