The Motutangi-Waiharara Water Users Group (MWWUG) are a group of property owners in the Far North who have combined their resources in their quest for consents from the Northland Regional Council (NRC) to use underground water for irrigation.
If the MWWUG are granted all the water they are asking for, no one else in some of the areas the MWWUG operate in will be allowed a consent for underground water.
This is because all the available underground water in that area would have been allocated by the NRC using their current guidelines for giving underground water consents.
The actions of the MWWUG make good business sense if you are one of their members. It is not illegal, occurs elsewhere in this country and all over the world. Some call it water banking, basically locking up water for future use.
It is an easy way of increasing the value of a property because a property with a water consent is far more desirable to potential buyers. If you choose not to use your total water allocation on your own property, it creates the possibility of trading your water with your neighbours for profit.
