The time has never been better for a proposed Waihemo water conservation scheme in East Otago, a promoter of the project based on the Shag River told a public meeting in Palmerston this week.
The chairman of the scheme promoters, Don McLenaghan, of Dunback, said the merits of the scheme, which includes constructing a dam inland from Dunback, would be considered by the Government's irrigation acceleration fund within a month.
"The time has never been better to set up an irrigation scheme," he said. "If we do not do it now, we may never get another chance." The water conservation committee would approach people seeking membership and funding.
Pineside, inland from Dunback on the Shag River, was the preferred site for a dam and a lake for water retention that would hold 18 million cubic metres of water.
Minimum river flows would be guaranteed, assisted by data gathered from the Shag River irrigation scheme since 1977.
Support from the Otago Regional Council, the Waitaki District Council and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry had been "huge", Mr McLenaghan said.
The Otago Regional Council was keen to see local water used for local productive purposes, ORC chief executive Graeme Martin told the meeting.
But water use will have to be efficient and the consenting process was significant, he said.
The Government could get "a little bit of magic" going with the irrigation acceleration fund, MP for Waitaki Jacqui Dean told the meeting. But if the scheme did not fit the criteria, Mrs Dean said she would go to the Minister of Agriculture to argue why not.
Maf Irrigation Acceleration Fund team member Damien Diack, of Wellington, told the meeting it dealt with robust proposals that were investment ready, but they must be commercially viable.
He could not say how long it would take to make a decision, but said only one proposal had been received by the fund so far.
Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton said the council supported the Dunback water retention proposal to this stage.
