Tasman District Council representatives will come to visit the Moutere for consultation on the proposed Waimea Community Dam.
The consultation will be focused on the benefits and costs of the project on ratepayers and water users throughout the District, and how the dam will be managed.
Join us at the Public Meeting on Thursday 16 November, 7 pm at the Moutere Hills Community Centre.
Have your say on the dam proposal - it is a huge project which will affect everybody in the district.
TDC Hydrologist Joseph Thomas recently made a presentation on water issues in the 200 km² Moutere Catchment at a recent meeting of the Mapua and District Community Association. Here is a summary of the scientific and technical aspects touched upon:
The Moutere is typically a dry catchment with 3 zones: Eastern, Western and Southern, which is
where Mapua sits. The entire catchment is full of Moutere Gravels of varying depths down to the granite base at about 200 m.
There are up to three levels of water which is very old and is recharged very slowly from the hills to the South. Council has tight rules for drilling bores but these were created originally for irrigation purposes (in dry seasons). The yield from these bores is low, typically around 5 cubic meters/hour.
Use has changed since to include household use with 365 day draw-down. Private bores are allowed without permit, are typically around 80 m deep and allow 5000 l/day. Council is worried that year-round draw-down could deplete the aquifer and allow salt water intrusion.
Tasman District Council is proposing some changes to the Public Water Supply Bylaw in this update on the previous bylaw from 2009 which is now expiring.
While no effective change from provisions in the expiring bylaw, two areas where Council intend to apply and enforce bylaw requirements are a "minimum storage for customers connected to a restricted flow supply", and for customers to "comply with any water restrictions imposed because of drought, emergency, or other reason".
This will affect all users on schemes with restrictors such as the Dovedale Water Scheme.
Follow this link to read the full bylaw draft.
Submissions close at 4.00pm Wednesday 10 August 2016.
A collection of links to further official TDC responses on the recent Waimea Dam consultation, with key quotes:
Affordability Issues Drive Council Rejection of Funding Models
"The issue of affordability is central to the Council’s decision to reject the funding models put forward in the recent consultation. [...] The proposal in the form consulted on is clearly not affordable nor supported if funded by ratepayers alone, as it proved earlier to be even less affordable if funded by water users alone." [Full Item]
Equity and Fairness a Key Element in Council Response
"Council has taken heed of the very clear message delivered by submitters and will work to deliver new sources of funding in the future." [Full Item]
Environmental Flow Costs to be Reassessed in Dam Funding
"Council has been asked reduce the ratepayer contribution in future budgets and modelling. [...] The contributor/exacerbator argument that many submitters raised has been accepted in principle." [Full Item]
Timing of Dam Consultation Process Questioned
"The recent consultation process [...] has been criticised for being rushed and premature and for a lack of information. Despite that, the number of submissions and the quality of many of them was outstanding." [Full Item]
From the TDC website:
Tasman District Council is being advised by staff at Thursday’s (11/12) meeting that neither of the funding options for the proposed Waimea Community Dam should be adopted. The analysis of submissions shows that the proposal to fund the project entirely from rates is not affordable for the community nor for the Council.
“My advice to the Council is that the project shouldn’t proceed on the funding basis proposed. I doubt that there is any way of allocating the cost of such a large project on to ratepayers or the direct beneficiaries in a way that is fair and affordable,” said Council CEO Lindsay McKenzie.
“There is still a strong case for augmenting the supply of water available on and around the Waimea Plains,” says Mr McKenzie. “For that reason I am also advising the Council to provide for a dam when it consults on the Long Term Plan 2015-25. My report covers the conditions on which a commitment to a dam could be made.”
The report recommends that submitters concerns about the method of funding the environmental flows be heeded, that further investigation into the best size for a dam be undertaken and external funding be actively sought.
See TDC news item.