The company promoting the Ruataniwha water storage scheme has indicated that the scheme has received the backing of local farmers that will allow the successful implementation of the project proposed for Central Hawke's Bay.

The major irrigation scheme is now expected to proceed after receiving the support of the farmers. Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company (HBRIC), which is the commercial arm of Hawke's Bay Regional Council, has been promoting the scheme among the local residents. The company indicated that it has signed contracts with a number of potential water users that is expected to make the project viable. Officials said that the project will be completed in about three years and will provide about 105 billion litres of water a year.

The Ruataniwha water storage scheme will include the development of a 7-kilometre-long dam in the foothills of the Ruahine range located northwest of Waipukurau as well as a pipe network capable of irrigating about 27,000 hectares of farmland in the area. HBRIC will depend on an $80 million investment from the council. The council had said that it will only approve the investment if the scheme has enough potential water users interested in the project.

The opponents of the scheme have said that it will impact the environment because it would enable more intensive farming in Central Hawke's Bay. Some of the Hawke's Bay regional councillors are also against the project. However, the council is largely in favour of the project and said that it will have a positive environmental and economic impact on the region as water can be used to augment river flows in Ruataniwha Plains that are prone to droughts.