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Waitaki River
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The Waitaki River is a large river in the South Island of New Zealand, some 110 km long. It is the major river of the Mackenzie Basin.
It is a braided river which has Lake Benmore, Lake Aviemore and Lake Waitaki at its headwaters. These are ultimately fed by three large glacial lakes, Pukaki, Tekapo, and Ohau. Lake Benmore and Lake Aviemore are contained by hydroelectric dams.
The Waitaki has several tributaries, notably the Ahuriri River and the Hakataramea River. It passes Kurow and Glenavy before entering the Pacific Ocean between Timaru and Oamaru on the east coast of the South Island.
The middle of the river bed forms a political boundary between the Canterbury and Otago regions. A proposal for a series of canals and dams was made by the Meridian Energy for irrigation and electricity generation on the river. This scheme, known as Project Aqua, planned to divert up to 77% of the lower river's flow to create a hydroelectric scheme, but these plans were dropped in March 2004. Lack of commercial viability was given as the major reason for the scheme's shelving, although strenuous public protest may also have been a major contributing factor.
The river is popular for recreational fishing and jetboating.
- Waitaki River, An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 26-Sep-2006.