Wairoa River (Bay of Plenty)
General data
- Name: Wairoa River (Bay of Plenty)
- Water system: Pacific Ocean
- Water type: River
- Progression: Bay of Plenty -> Pacific Ocean -> Planet Earth
- Climates: Temperate
- Continents: Australia & Oceania
- Countries: New Zealand
The Wairoa River runs north into Tauranga Harbour at the western end of the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island.
In the mid-1970s, the Tauranga Joint Generation Committee proposed a hydroelectric power scheme for the Opuiaki River and Wairoa River. The newly formed Kaimai Canoe Club opposed the scheme at the water rights headings, this was on the grounds that it would destroy fishing, sport and recreation for existing and future generations. A compromise was arrived at by allowing the release of water 26 days a year for whitewater recreation.