A project that could more than triple the area under irrigation in the Wairarapa Valley is now focusing on five potential dam sites, with a further three in reserve.
They have been chosen from 14 sites and checked for their water storage and distribution potential.
The Wairarapa Water Use Project could increase irrigation to more than 40,000 hectares, as well as providing water for boosting low summer river flows, frost fighting, hydro-power generation and urban supply.
Wellington Regional Council chair Fran Wilde said they hope to know by the end of next year how many of the sites under investigation will be worth taking through to a full scale feasibility study.
