The environmental impact of pylons, wires and other power transmission infrastructure were just as important as the dams that may be built on the Clutha River, an Otago Conservation Board member said yesterday.
The board, which met in Milton, will soon meet Contact Energy to engage in what board chairman Hoani Langsbury said would be "open and frank discussion" about the power company's proposal to revisit plans for up to four dams on the river.
A paper, briefly outlining potential conservation issues with any or all four dams, was tabled.
It outlined three key areas that may concern the board and form the basis of its talks with Contact.
These included the direct effects on the Clutha River system, the inundation of nearby land and how transmission infrastructure would be handled.
Board member Abby Smith said this last issue should be considered as part of the overall dam proposal.
The effects of pylons and other facilities should be looked at alongside the kind of effects a dam might have on the landscape, she said.
The board paper, which only briefly outlines key potential issues, examined the possible effect on the river system.
It said the four- to five-year construction cycle of a dam would result in sedimentation, pollution and disruption; the permanent interruption of natural flooding cycles which would affect river ecosystems; and river bed changes.
The loss of heritage mining sites, if they were flooded by new lakes, would be impossible to replace, the paper said.
It also suggested the board consider the construction of transmission infrastructure as a separate but important feature of any new dams.
