Through drought conditions and some hefty rainfall, the first full season of operation for the Waimea Community Dam has proven its worth and provided insight into its ongoing value to those who live and work on the Waimea Plains and adjacent reticulated areas like Māpua.
Following its commissioning in September 2024, the dam was officially opened on 7 February 2025 by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Mayor Tim King, Waimea Irrigators Limited Chair Murray King and Waimea Water Limited Chair David Wright.
As we’ve mentioned, the completed Waimea Community Dam is a legacy project for our region, as the first large dam built in the past 30 years, it is vital for securing the water supply for generations to come.
However, the dam’s benefit had already come to the fore during a significant dry weather period last summer when 20 percent of the reservoir was released, minimising the effects of water restrictions on residents, businesses and irrigators.
This season, the presence of the dam has continued to maintain and augment the essential environmental river flow when necessary.
Because of this, for the first time in many summers, we have been able to stave off implementing water restrictions on our urban supplies. As well as this, dam-affiliated consent holders have been able to access sufficient water for crops and pastures without any restrictions on their allocated supply.
Reservoir capacity has remained at 100 percent for most of the season, which has allowed its operator to release water for testing purposes as well as flushing flows of the Lee River.
The next 18 months will provide more data on the dam’s performance – this will offer a broader picture of how it is helping the health of the Waimea River and the aquifers it helps replenish.