The Morven Glenavy Ikawai (“MGI”) Irrigation Company incorporates one of the oldest schemes in South Canterbury – the Redcliffs irrigation scheme was built by the government in the 1930s and the Morven Glenavy scheme was built in the 1970s. MGI purchased the two schemes from the Crown in 1989 and is now responsible for their full operation.

MGI has continued to grow and improve the irrigation scheme and following the development of the Waihao Downs Irrigation Scheme in 2016, MGI is responsible for irrigation water supply to 29,000 hectares of farm area.

MGI is a leader in the New Zealand irrigation sector and at the forefront of scheme performance and environmental management. MGI has a comprehensive audited self-management system, and the scheme also seeks to improve environmental values in its command area by augmenting flows in the Waihao River, which flows into the Wainono Lagoon.

MGI is a member of Irrigation New Zealand and the Waitaki Irrigators Collective (WIC) and has collaborated to create a water quality visualisation tool for the Lower Waitaki catchment, please visit the following link to Know your Catchment.

Hydrographs for the Waitaki River and Waihao River (last 2-days)