PROJECTS

Hawkes Bay Irrigation Plan, New Zealand

The problem

The Ruataniwha Plains, an area in New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay, were unsuitable for high value horticultural and dairy farming because they faced periodic droughts. Local farmers and a leading commercial bank wanted to develop an irrigation scheme to make the land more productive but weren’t sure it would be profitable.

How we helped

Castalia assessed the commercial viability of the scheme. We forecast demand for irrigation and assessed volume risk for the proposed Ruataniwha Plains Water Storage Project. We developed a land use optimization model predicting how farmers would switch to irrigated crops once water was available. We confirmed the analysis through a survey of all farmers in the region as well as focus groups to assess willingness to pay for reliable water supply. We assessed farmers’ willingness to switch land use given their current skill set and farming experience. We constructed a model of change of ownership based on farmer age profiles, expected hand-over rates and typical land sale trends and developed a long-term forecast of uptake in irrigation connections.

Impact

Although our analysis showed that the Ruataniwha Plains Water Storage project was commercially viable, the scheme could not secure the necessary environmental permits, and so did not proceed. Instead additional groundwater abstraction was allowed, threatening the local aquifer.

The client

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

Our team

Alex Sundakov

Alex Sundakov

Executive Director

Find out more

How can we help you?

CONTACT US

How can we help you?

CONTACT US

WASHINGTON, DC
+1 (202) 466-6790
1747 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 1200
United States of America

SYDNEY
+61 (2) 9231 6862
Suite 19.01, Level 19, 227 Elizabeth Street
Australia

AUCKLAND
+64 (4) 913 2800
Sinclair House, 3 Glenside Crescent
New Zealand

WELLINGTON
+64 (4) 913 2800
Level 2, 88 The Terrace
New Zealand

PARIS
+33 (0)1 85 64 10 22
3B Rue Taylor
France

BOGOTÁ
+57 (1) 508 5794
Calle 81 #11-08, Piso 5, Oficina 5-121
Colombia

Thinking for a better world.

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WASHINGTON, DC
+1 (202) 466-6790
1747 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 1200
United States of America

SYDNEY
+61 (2) 9231 6862
Suite 19.01, Level 19, 227 Elizabeth Street
Australia

AUCKLAND
+64 (4) 913 2800
74D France Street, Newton South
New Zealand

WELLINGTON
+64 (4) 913 2800
Level 2, 88 The Terrace
New Zealand

PARIS
+33 (1) 73 44 26 97
6 Rue Duret
France

BOGOTÁ
+57 (1) 508 5794
Calle 81 #11-08, Piso 5, Oficina 5-127
Colombia

Thinking for a better world.

Castalia-logo-negative-2col
PROJECTS        NEWS        BLOG        CONTACT
© Copyright 2019 Castalia. All rights reserved.
Terms | Privacy | Credits | Sitemap