Water shortage in the Waimea Plains
– have we made any progress?

The need for a water storage dam in the Waimea Plains is well understood by major water users, including industrial water users, the Tasman  District Council (TDC) and environmental groups such as Fish & Game NZ and Forest & Bird as well as irrigators. It is not so well understood by the urban community who have an expectation that the TDC will always provide their water needs.

Who will be affected if the water shortage is not solved?

Much of the discussion around the Waimea Dam has focused on whose interests will be served by the dam rather than on debating the solutions that are desperately required. The real need is to determine a sustainable solution that meets the long- term requirements of the whole community, not just irrigators. The real issues are:

•  Ensuring there is sufficient water to meet the needs of the communities living in Richmond, Hope, Redwood Valley, Brightwater and Mapua over the next century.
•  Providing sufficient water in the Waimea River and estuary to sustain the flora and fauna of the river over the dry summer months.
•  Recharging the underground aquifers and river flow during drought conditions.
•  Providing sufficient water in the river system to enable summer recreation.
•  Providing water for the productive industries of Waimea Plains and Richmond.

The community’s perception is that the lack of water is the irrigators’ problem and that the urban community doesn’t need to have any concerns. That view is naive and short sighted. The problems associated with providing water to the homes and industries of the region must be faced and resolved by the whole community.

What is TDC’s role?

The TDC has an obligation under the Resource Management Act to manage its natural resources sustainably and to safeguard the economic and social well being of its community.

Any solution  to the district’s water shortage must address a diverse range of interests including environmental, cultural, recreational, social and economic. The TDC is also compelled by the National Policy Statement 2014 to set limits to sustainably manage water resources and to address the over allocation of water resources.

The recently introduced TDC Water Management Plan 2014 (WMP), which is still proceeding through the submission phase, sets new limits on water allocation. These new limits will be implemented when the current water permits begin to be reviewed as they expire from 2016 onwards. The reviewed allocations will be substantially less than the existing allocations.

Furthermore, the 2014 WMP sets substantially higher minimum flow levels in the Waimea River, which requires significantly greater restrictive water rationing limits over the dry summer months. These more stringent limits will have the effect of extending the rationing period over a much longer period with more severe reductions  in water usage for all users.

The ultimate rationing step becomes a ‘cease take’ that will effectively shut down all water consumption from the Waimea River with the exception of TDC’s urban water supply. The cease-take provisions will have a major impact, shutting down production in many industries.

In particular,  glasshouse operations, which now rely almost solely on hydroponics, can survive only four hours without water. One day without water will effectively cut off six months’ production from a hydroponic glasshouse. The cease-take provision will therefore definitely have an impact on employment.

What are the consequences if a dam is not built?

Without a dam to provide water augmentation, the consequences on the community will be far reaching. For instance, the lack of augmentation will have the following impacts on the urban community:

•  No water will be available for residential growth in Richmond, Brightwater, Hope or Mapua except on land that is already zoned residential.
•  New commercial ventures will be limited to 15m³ per day effectively preventing any new high-water-using activities.
•  In a severe drought, the TDC will have to adopt drastic water cutbacks to all water users—urban, industrial and rural—to comply with its own consented allocations.
•  Alternative water supplies will have to be found for the TDC to meet its water supply obligations and to avoid the severe implications of restrictions.
•  Any alternative supply other than the Waimea Community Dam proposal will not provide the wider benefits of meeting the environmental, cultural, social and productive needs of the district.
•  Any alternative supply is likely to be substantially more costly than the proposed scheme.
•  Alternative supplies are unlikely to provide the level of security required to support urban growth.

TDC research, recommendation, and rejection

Waimea Water Augmentation Committee (WWAC) was formed in 2001 to investigate possible solutions to the Waimea shortages. The committee consists of a wide representation including representatives of the irrigation zones of the Waimea Plains, Department of Conservation, Iwi, Fish  & Game,  TDC and Nelson  City Council (NCC).

After comprehensive research carried out on behalf of the TDC by the WWAC, it is clear the most cost-effective solution that meets the needs of all interest groups is a dam located in the Upper Lee Valley. The investigations undertaken by the WWAC have been comprehensive, and the processes developed by the committee have been heralded nationally as a model for sound collaborative governance.

Finding an equitable and affordable funding model that meets the needs of all interest groups and fairly spreads the burden has long been recognised as the greatest challenge of this project. The TDC proposed a funding model in October 2014.

The model required a compulsory capital contribution from all landowners  in the identified supply area of the proposed dam. The TDC targeted the contributions rate across the whole district to cover the environmental benefits. That proposal was soundly rejected by the community.

Alternative funding model for the dam 

Recently an alternative funding model has been proposed by Waimea Community Dam Ltd (WCDL) who represent the irrigators.

This proposed model is a mix of equity and debt funding.

1. The irrigators and TDC would  contribute $20 million each.
2. An investment of $8 – $12 million would be sought from the government and NCC to contribute to the social and environmental benefits of the project.
3. The remaining funds of around $17 million would be borrowed.

This model would require irrigators to make an upfront capital contribution of between $4,500 and $6,000 per hectare of water allocation, depending on the level of uptake. Annual costs would be $450 per hectare including operating and debt servicing costs.

The proposal is considered to be both affordable and flexible enough to allow irrigators to choose to what extent they support and contribute to the scheme. It is therefore expected that the irrigation community will embrace the proposal. It remains to be seen how the remaining stakeholders will react to it.

What if the stakeholders cannot agree?

Doing nothing is not a sustainable option. Without water augmentation, the district will cease to grow both economically and socially. Without water augmentation, some existing industries will not be able to survive, reducing employment opportunities.  Urban growth in the major townships of the region will be limited and industrial growth will be restricted.

The majority of the planning and consenting for the project has been completed and the costs are known. The project could conceivably be put on hold. However, putting the project on hold will not prevent the severe water restrictions provided for in the 2014 WMP being implemented over the next dry summer. Water restrictions  will affect both urban consumers and irrigators. Inevitably, any delay will result in significant cost increases.

The community and District desperately need to manage the natural resources sustainably and to safeguard the economic and social well being of the community into the future. It’s now time for the whole community to get behind the dam, failure to do so will result in the long term decline
of the whole district both economically and socially.