The Department of Conservation is considering whether to proceed with the disposal of reserve land above Clyde.
Doc statutory land management adviser Dinah Wakelin said it had received four submissions, all opposing the move to revoke the land's reserve status so it could be disposed of.
Two came from Alexandra, one from Clyde, and one from someone who worked in the area.
''They were all keen for it to stay as reserve land,'' she said. The submissions concern a 47ha strip of reserve land that sits above State Highway 8 opposite Clyde township and forms part of the Clyde Recreation Reserve.
The land was managed by the Central Otago District Council until 2002, but formally came under Doc control last year.
Ms Wakelin said the council had recently approached Doc, asking that a small site attached to the reserve land not be disposed of, and instead held temporarily so it could be considered for a new water scheme.
Council properties and facilities manager Mike Kerr confirmed it had asked Doc to retain a small piece of the land, near the Clyde Dam, as a site option for a proposed alternative Alexandra water supply project.
''This [idea] wasn't on the horizon when they [council] decided to quit this piece of reserve.''
Council water services manager Russell Bond said the 4.5ha site was one of a few options for a possible water treatment plant and reservoir. However, it was ''very much conceptual'' at this stage.
Ms Wakelin said the section requested by the council would be held until the council decided whether to use it.
The reserve land is seen as having little conservation value, and potential weed control issues. Ms Wakelin said comments from submissions would be considered in the final decision of whether to revoke its status.
If that happened, the land would become Crown owned and a Land Information New Zealand agent would arrange for its disposal, she said. It would be offered to Ngai Tahu, who would have first right of refusal to buy it, before it was eventually sold.
