Meridian lodges application for Mokihinui dam

2008-01-22T22:37:42+13:00

Government-owned Meridian Energy has lodged resource consent applications to construct a $250 million 65-85MW dam on the Mokihinui River. The Mokihinui offers excellent whitewater kayaking in classic West Coast backcountry. The proposal would inundate an entire class III-IV section from Mokihinui Forks down to Seddonville. It would effectively eliminate the upstream class IV-V section from the Johnson-Allan confluence by replacing the lower run with a 14km lake. Meridian re aware of existing heli-kayaking on the river but claim “numerous other rivers on the West Coast… are considered to be better for kayaking and rafting than the Mokihinui.” The NZRCA disputes this claim and will be vigorously opposing the project. While NZ needs more renewable energy, our whitewater rivers are not a renewable resource.

Conservation