1025-Watercare Waikato River TAKE4
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Drawing water from the Waikato River catchment The Waikato River is the longest river in Saline Serving Auckland New Zealand. It flows for 425km from the central zone North Island volcanic zone, into Lake Taupō, Tūākau Watercare’s Waikato Water Treatment then north past numerous communities before Plant is in Tūākau. This is 36km from flowing into the Tasman Sea at Port Waikato. Port Waikato and 23km from the saline zone. At this point in the river, almost 16 billion litres or more of water Fast facts flows past the treatment plant every day before reaching the Tasman Sea. Length: 425km There are 101 water users downstream of our treatment plant. Catchment area: 14,456km2 15 of these users have consent to Port take surface water, 79 may take Direction: Water flows north Waikato ground water, and 7 may take both. from Mt Ruapehu to Port Waikato. Huntly Waikato River consent Ngāruawāhia Watercare has applied to take a further 150 million litres of water a day from the river, bringing the total daily volume The Waipa River is the to 300 million litres. If approved, this largest tributary into would represent up to 2% of the total the Waikato River. Hamilton volume of water flowing out to sea from ≤2% this point in the river during low flow Note: The Mangatangi conditions. Proportion of water to River and Mangatawhiri Cambridge be used by Auckland Stream flow from the should Watercare's Hunua Ranges to the consent be approved. Waikato River. Watercare has water supply dams in these catchments. Serving communities in the Waikato Region There are numerous communities Serving farmers upstream of Watercare’s treatment plant that draw water from the Waikato There are around 1500 entities that River catchment. These communities – draw water from the river for which include Cambridge and Hamilton horticultural or agricultural purposes. – have a combined population of Around 270 of these have consent to around 277,000. Collectively, these take surface water. Collectively, these communities may use up to 231 million entities use up to 554 million litres of litres of water a day. surface water a day, and 204 million litres of ground water a day. Generating electricity Mangakino Mercury operates eight hydro-electric Other water users power stations along the river between Taupō and Karapiro. Its control gates at Taupō regulates the flow of water into the There is a wide range of river. Genesis Energy operates three other entities that draw hydro-electric power stations upstream of water from the Waikato Lake Taupō as well as New Zealand’s River catchment. For largest thermal power station at Huntly. Taupō example, water is being The Huntly power station uses water from used for construction, the river for cooling purposes. Collectively, mining and manufacturing activities to generate power may consume operations as well as for up to 69.4 million litres a day. recreational purposes. Collectively, these entities may consume up Lake Taupo to 132 million litres of surface water a day, and Lake Taupō is New Zealand’s largest lake, 99 million litres of ground holding 59 trillion litres of water. This is water a day. 617 times more than the total volume of water stored in Watercare’s dams. *Consent holder counts and abstraction volumes based on allocation database provided by WRC in November 2020..