Irrigation in the Hakataramea Valley is set for a major expansion, with eight applicants yesterday granted 25 resource consents to water about 3300ha in the drought-prone South Canterbury valley.
The resource consents, all granted by Environment Canterbury (ECan) for a 35-year term, are to take, divert and use water, as well as land use consents to construct storage dams and ponds and build a new irrigation scheme.
Most of the new irrigation is for cropping, sheep and beef farming, although one farmer has indicated he wants to develop a dairy farm.
The water will come from the Waitaki River, Hakataramea River and its tributaries and totals about 2.6cumecs.
Three of the consents renew existing water rights which already irrigate about 250ha.
The rest are new consents or expansion of existing consents and the majority are for water harvesting during high flows in rivers and streams, storing water in dams or ponds then using it for irrigation.
The biggest by far is a new irrigation scheme proposed by the Hakataramea Irrigation Company.
It wants to pump water from the Waitaki River downstream of the Waitaki dam into a piped scheme, delivering it to six farms to irrigate 1875ha.
One exception to irrigation is an application from the Padkins Creek Community Race.
It is to renew a consent to take water for the scheme, built in 1886, which supplies domestic water to 14 households and stock water for about 20,000 animals.
The 25 applications make up almost half of 52 considered during hearings in Oamaru in 2008 by an ECan panel of former Environment Court judge Prof Peter Skelton (Christchurch), environmental consultant Mike Bowden (Kaiapoi) and freshwater scientist and ecologist Greg Ryder (Dunedin).
All were for water from the Waitaki River and its tributaries (including the Hakataramea River) below the Waitaki dam, including the $1 billion Meridian Energy Ltd north bank tunnel hydro electricity scheme and $200 million Meridian Energy Ltd-South Canterbury Irrigation Trust Hunter Downs irrigation scheme covering 40,000ha in the Waimate district.
All the others, except for one, have been granted in previous decisions by the ECan panel, the north bank tunnel power scheme and Hunter Downs irrigation scheme both at present under consideration by Environment Court.
The Hakataramea Valley is notorious for prolonged periods of drought and irrigation has been viewed as essential to the future of farming in the area.
Issues faced by farmers included the reliability of, and access to, water in the Hakataramea catchment, restrictions on irrigation during low flows, water quantity and quality.
Opponents who took an active part in the hearing of the applications included the Department of Conservation, Central South Island Fish and Game Council, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu and local runanga and the Lower Waitaki River Management Society.
Major issues which had to be considered by the panel included the effect of more irrigation on water quality, the catchment environment, effects on fish (including salmon angling) and angling, aquatic and water ecology, compatibility with existing water consent holders, cultural effects and minimum flows in the Hakataramea River and its tributaries.
