Water is probably the single most important contributor to the Central Otago economy, district councillors have been told.
The Central Otago District Council was considering a Business and Economic Research Ltd (Berl) report on the economic impact of commercial water use in the district.
Business development manager Jonathan Gadd said the council wanted an economic impact assessment to quantify the value of water to the Central Otago economy.
"By accounting for dependants, a conservative estimate is that approximately 2500 to 3000 of the district's population is resident due to the existing commercial water use," he told the council.
"It is probable that water is the single most important contributor to the district's economy, and by extension, the community."
He said the Berl study gave the council some useful economic analysis on agricultural and hydro-electrical activities within the district.
Central Otago Mayor Malcolm Macpherson said the report would be particularly useful when considering funding applications for new irrigation schemes planned in the district.
"There's three on the go - Tarras, Dairy Creek and one in the Ida Valley," he said.
"We are potential stake-holders and this report will help us [decide] to what extent we get involved."
The report, prepared by Kel Anderson and Adrian Slack, concluded that the net impact of irrigation increased the district gross domestic product by about $93 million a year.
Hydro-electric generation increased the district GDP by a further $15 million to $20 million a year.
The Berl report found 15% of those employed in the district had direct or indirect links to the impact of irrigation or electricity generation.
