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Story: Irrigation and drainage

Dam water storage

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Dam water storage

For farms away from major rivers, storing runoff water in winter and spring in dams is one way of being able to irrigate during the drier seasons. This large dam in Marlborough holds 1.3 million cubic metres of water, which is used for irrigating vineyards.

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by Jaap van der Stoel

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How to cite this page

Terry Heiler, Irrigation and drainage – Irrigation after 2000, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/19609/dam-water-storage (accessed 10 June 2026).

Story by Terry Heiler, published 1 March 2009.