Water Schemes May Get Jump Start As RMA Tweaks Loom
February 2nd, 2009
Water storage schemes in the South Island may get a jump start soon, with reforms to the Resource Management Act going to Cabinet this week. Environment Minister, Nick Smith, is set to announce the changes aimed at simplifying and streamlining the approvals process. Farmers fear water storage won’t make the cut for the Govt’s infrastructure priorities. Identifying irrigation schemes with the best prospect of success depends on completion of the Canterbury Strategic Water Study.
Storage a challenge. The conundrum for Canterbury, the thirstiest region in the country, is water is in tight supply on a daily basis yet over the course of a year there is sufficient supply if a way can be found to store the resource. Water spilled from over-full hydro dams last month only rubbed salt in the wound. The success of South Canterbury’s award-winning Opuha dam project, which generates power, provides a recreational resource and waters nearby farms, only came after a 16-year effort and a plan to put a weir on North Canterbury’s Lake Sumner to irrigate 40,000 hectares may be an even more daunting task. The water study is scheduled for completion in June, if not delayed. Agriculture Minister David Carter has offered to take a case to the Cabinet for funding as the study doesn’t currently meet the criteria for financial aid from the Community Irrigation Fund.
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