Environmental Issues
There has been opposition to hydroelectric power on environmental grounds for many decades.
The first nationwide environmental campaign in New Zealand was opposition to raising Lake Manapouri for a power station to supply electricity to an aluminium smelter. The Save Manapouri Campaign was a success and the power station was built without raising the level of lake outside of its natural range.
The highly endangered Black Stilt, which nests on the braided rivers beds of the South Island, is threatened by changes in river flows as a result of new hydro dams and changes in flow regimes for existing dams. The Upper Waitaki Power Development posed a threat to the black stilt habitat and a programme was set up to lessen the threats.
See also: Environmental impacts of damsRead more about this topic: Hydroelectric Power In New Zealand
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