The fight to stop a major international company from taking a billion litres of water a year from the Awaiti Aquifer near Whakatane has reached the High Court.

Ngati Awa is appealing the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s decision to grant Creswell New Zealand Limited consent to expand an existing water bottling operation in Otakiri.

Te Aniwa Hurihanganui filed this report from the High Court in Rotorua.