The regional council's proposed $230 million dam has been identified as the single biggest economic development opportunity for Hawke's Bay.
And while improving the councils' performance is considered critical, it is not a "silver bullet" for regional prosperity, a report says.
The first stage of the $100,000 McGredy, Winder & Co Prosperity Study was released yesterday, a report commissioned by the five Hawke's Bay councils but funded entirely by the Hawke's Bay Regional Council.
The first stage identified the issues and the ways for improving the prosperity of Hawke's Bay. It canvassed economic, social, political and environmental areas.
It stated Hawke's Bay has large areas of land suited to intensive agriculture or horticulture that is not being utilised, in part because of the lack of security in the supply of irrigation water.