Following the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council decision to abandon the controversial Ruataniwha Dam project, Federated Farmers says questions on the region’s future resilience against droughts remain.
Councillors voted today to abandon the project which has turned into a long running saga mired in legal technicalities and challenges.
Federated Farmers Hawke’s Bay provincial president Will Foley says the council decision was “inevitable but still a gut buster for those who’ve been in behind the scheme from day one”.
“It was an ambitious project but it certainly was achievable," he says.
"In some ways it is good that the council has finally called it. This whole process has been confusing for all involved as it wasn’t that long ago the council voted to continue support."
“Farmers who invested in the scheme can now move on and consider what’s best for them and their business.”
