Waitaki River
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The Waitaki River is a large braided river that drains the
Mackenzie Basin The Mackenzie Basin (), popularly and traditionally known as the Mackenzie Country, is an elliptical intermontane basin located in the Mackenzie and Waitaki Districts, near the centre of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest su ...
and runs some south-east to enter the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
between
Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...
and
Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the rai ...
on the east coast of the
South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
of New Zealand. It starts at the confluence of the
Ōhau Ōhau is a village and semi-rural community in the Horowhenua District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located just south of Levin on State Highway 1. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage ...
and Tekapo rivers, now at the head of the artificial
Lake Benmore Lake Benmore is New Zealand's largest artificial lake. Located in the South Island of New Zealand and part of the Waitaki River, it was created in the 1960s by construction of Benmore Dam. Characteristics The lake has an area of about 75  ...
, these rivers being fed by three large glacial lakes, Pukaki, Tekapo, and
Ōhau Ōhau is a village and semi-rural community in the Horowhenua District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located just south of Levin on State Highway 1. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage ...
at the base of the Southern Alps. The Waitaki flows through Lake Benmore,
Lake Aviemore Lake Aviemore or Mahi Tikumu is a man-made lake in New Zealand's South Island, part of the Waitaki hydroelectric scheme. Immediately upstream is Lake Benmore and downstream Lake Waitaki. Aviemore lies on both sides of the border between the Wa ...
and
Lake Waitaki Lake Waitaki is the smallest, oldest and most downstream of the three man-made lakes on the Waitaki River, and forms part of the Waitaki hydroelectric scheme in New Zealand's South Island. It lies downstream of lakes Aviemore and Benmore on the ...
, these lakes being contained by hydroelectric dams, Benmore Dam,
Aviemore Dam The Aviemore Dam is a dam on the Waitaki River in New Zealand. The dam is a composite dam, with an embankment section, and a concrete section. Built in the 1960s (and completed in 1968) it impounds Lake Aviemore. Aviemore Dam is owned and opera ...
and Waitaki Dam. The Waitaki has several tributaries, notably the
Ahuriri River The Ahuriri River is a river in the Canterbury and Otago Regions of the South Island of New Zealand. The headwaters are on the eastern flanks of the Southern Alps. The river flows for through the southernmost part of the Mackenzie Basin befo ...
and the Hakataramea River. It passes
Kurow Kurow is a small town in the Waitaki District, New Zealand. It is located on the south bank of the Waitaki River, northwest of Oamaru. Description The name is an Anglicised form of the Māori name of the nearby mountain, Te Kohurau. In the ...
and
Glenavy Glenavy () is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, 17 kilometres north west of Lisburn on the banks of the Glenavy River. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 5,697 people. In early documents it was known as Lena ...
before entering the Pacific Ocean. The River lends its name the
Waitaki District Waitaki District is a territorial authority district that is located in the Canterbury and Otago regions of the South Island of New Zealand. It straddles the traditional border between the two regions, the Waitaki River, and its seat is Oamaru. ...
on the south side of the river bank. The river's flow is normally low in winter, with flows increasing in spring when the snow cloaking the Southern Alps begins to melt, with flows throughout the summer being rainfall dependent and then declining in the autumn as the colder weather begins to freeze the smaller streams and streams which feed the catchment. The median flow of the Waitaki River at Kurow is . The first major infrastructure improvements to the river were made between 1881 and 1914 with the construction of road and rail bridges at Kurow and Waitaki Bridge. The middle of the river bed formed a traditional political boundary between
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...
and
Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
. The term "south of the Waitaki" is often used to refer to the
Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
and
Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...
regions as one common area (the two regions share historical and ethnic relationships which make them distinct from the regions to the north of them). The river is popular for recreational
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
and
jetboat A jetboat is a boat propelled by a jet of water ejected from the back of the craft. Unlike a powerboat or motorboat that uses an external propeller in the water below or behind the boat, a jetboat draws the water from under the boat through ...
ing.


Toponymy

Waitaki translates from southern Māori as "weeping waters" (''wai ='' "water", ''taki'' = "to weep, mourn"). The equivalent in standard (northern) Māori is Waitangi.


Electricity generation

The river is the site of many hydroelectricity projects. The Waitaki Hydro Scheme, which includes several large dams, is one of the largest hydroelectric projects in the nation. The Waitaki dam was built first, between 1928 and 1934, and without earth-moving machinery, followed by the development of the
Aviemore Dam The Aviemore Dam is a dam on the Waitaki River in New Zealand. The dam is a composite dam, with an embankment section, and a concrete section. Built in the 1960s (and completed in 1968) it impounds Lake Aviemore. Aviemore Dam is owned and opera ...
which created
Lake Aviemore Lake Aviemore or Mahi Tikumu is a man-made lake in New Zealand's South Island, part of the Waitaki hydroelectric scheme. Immediately upstream is Lake Benmore and downstream Lake Waitaki. Aviemore lies on both sides of the border between the Wa ...
, and then Benmore Dam which created
Lake Benmore Lake Benmore is New Zealand's largest artificial lake. Located in the South Island of New Zealand and part of the Waitaki River, it was created in the 1960s by construction of Benmore Dam. Characteristics The lake has an area of about 75  ...
.
Lake Pukaki Lake Pukaki is the largest of three roughly parallel alpine lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin on New Zealand's South Island. The others are Lakes Lake Tekapo, Tekapo and Lake Ohau, New Zealand, Ohau. All t ...
was initially dammed at this stage to provide storage and flow control. A small station was also installed on
Lake Tekapo __NOTOC__ Lake Tekapo ( mi, Takapō) is the second-largest of three roughly parallel lakes running north–south along the northern edge of the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand (the others are Lake Pukaki and Lake Ohau). ...
, with water taken through a tunnel to a power station below the level of the lake. The original Waitaki power stations discharge water back into the Waitaki River which then forms a storage lake for the next station in the chain. The three power stations are (commissioned/capacity/annual output): *Waitaki (1935/105 MW/500 GWh) * Benmore (1965/540 MW/2200 GWh) *
Aviemore Aviemore (; gd, An Aghaidh Mhòr ) is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is po ...
(1968/220 MW/940 GWh) In the 1960s, work was started on the Upper Waitaki project. This project consisted of taking the discharge from the original Tekapo (A) station through the
Tekapo Canal {{disambiguation * Tekapo River, flows occasionally through the Mackenzie Basin, Canterbury, in New Zealand's South Island, * Lake Tekapo (town), small town (township) located at the southern end of the lake of the same name in the inland South Isla ...
, to Tekapo B station at the edge of Lake Pukaki. The dam at Pukaki was increased in height. Water from Pukaki is then transferred into the
Pukaki Canal Pukaki was an 18th-century chief of the Arawa iwi of New Zealand. His portrait appears on the New Zealand 20 cent coin minted from 1990 to 2008. The name has been used for several New Zealand items: *Pukaki, one of the volcanic cones of the Auck ...
which meets the
Ohau Canal Ohau or Ōhau may refer to the following in New Zealand: * Ben Ohau, a mountain in the South Island * Ben Ohau Range * Lake Ōhau * Lake Ohau Alpine Village * Ōhau River (Canterbury) * Ōhau River (Manawatū-Whanganui) * Ohau (skifield) * Ohau A p ...
from Lake Ōhau into Ohau A station and
Lake Ruataniwha Lake Ruataniwha is an artificial lake in the Mackenzie Basin in the South Island of New Zealand. It was formed in 1977–1981 as part of the Waitaki hydroelectric project. It lies on the traditional boundary of the Canterbury and Otago provinces, ...
. The Ohau Canal continues beyond Lake Ruataniwha to Ohau B midway along, before emptying through Ohau C into Lake Benmore. The stations are (commissioned/capacity/annual output): *Tekapo A (1955/25 MW/160 GWh) *Tekapo B (1977/160 MW/800 GWh) *Ohau A (1980/264 MW/1150 GWh) *Ohau B (1984-85/212 MW/970 GWh) *Ohau C (1984-85/212 MW/970 GWh)


Later proposals

In 2001 a proposal for a new series of canals and dams was made by
Meridian Energy Meridian Energy Limited is a New Zealand electricity generator and retailer. The company generates the largest proportion of New Zealand's electricity, generating 35 percent of the country's electricity in the year ending December 2014, and is ...
for irrigation and
electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transmi ...
on the river. This scheme, known as
Project Aqua Project Aqua was a hydroelectric scheme proposed for the lower Waitaki River in New Zealand. Although the scheme had considerable support from some locals, it met with opposition from many other groups, and Meridian Energy decided in March 2004 n ...
, planned to divert up to 77 percent of the lower river's flow to create a hydroelectric scheme, but these plans were dropped in March 2004. Lack of commercial viability was given as the major reason for the scheme's shelving, although strenuous public protest may also have been a major contributing factor. A more modest successor scheme, the North Bank tunnel looked likely to proceed, with water rights being granted in 2009, but land access negotiations were suspended in January 2013 due to flat demand for electricity forecast for the next five years.


See also

*
List of rivers of New Zealand This is a list of all waterways named as rivers in New Zealand. A * Aan River * Acheron River (Canterbury) * Acheron River (Marlborough) * Ada River * Adams River * Ahaura River * Ahuriri River * Ahuroa River * Akatarawa River * Ākitio R ...
* Reservoirs and dams in New Zealand


References


Further reading

*


External links


Waitaki Valley website

Meridian energy Waitaki hydro scheme

Hydrologic webmap of the Waitaki river basin
{{Waitaki Rivers of Canterbury, New Zealand Rivers of Otago Hydroelectricity in New Zealand Braided rivers in New Zealand Rivers of New Zealand