Waimea dam plan ‘head and shoulders’ above other options
Reaching a decision on whether to support the proposed Waimea dam is simple, says the scheme’s new interim project director.
‘‘I think it really comes down to whether you trust public institutions,’’ John Hutton said.
People, such as Tasman district councillors and staff, were elected or hired ‘‘because they’re the right people for the job and I think there should be a predisposition to thinking that thought’’.
Hutton, a former Arizona State senator who lives in Tasman district, has been appointed until the end of August by TDC and its proposed joint-venture partner in the dam project, Waimea Irrigators Ltd (WIL).
TDC has earmarked $25 million in its Long Term Plan 2015-25 for the proposed irrigation dam in the Lee Valley, which has an estimated total project cost of $82.5m.
WIL proposes raising at least $15m from irrigators along with up to $25m via a 15-year loan from Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd, which acts on behalf of the Gov- ernment as a bridging investor for regional water infrastructure development.
It is anticipated other funds may come from the Nelson City Council and the Ministry for the Environment.
The proposed dam has a long history and Hutton, who was appointed this month, said he’d been reading up on the project, including some professional reports.
The water on the Waimea Plains had been over allocated. However, while the allocation of water was not growing, the popu- lation was increasing, creating a mismatch. Money would need to be spent on augmentation.
‘‘From what I’ve seen, this [dam] is the best of a lot of options by far – it’s head and shoulders above in terms of efficacy,’’ Hutton said.
‘‘In terms of achieving water quality goals, environmental goals and security of supply goals, it ticks all the boxes at a relatively good cost.’’
The more complex way of looking at the project was to tear it apart and analyse every area such as water security, environmental aspects and the financial model, ‘‘which people are welcome to do during the consultation process’’.
Hutton said everybody wanted facts, not speculation. Those facts should be available to the public soon with a new website under development that he hoped would go live this week.
Hutton said he needed to be ‘‘on top of’’ the multiple TDC work streams related to the proposed dam including communication, land and access, engineering and construction.
The other big task was to find a project director.
He said he was not unduly worried about finding the right person for the role, which was likely to last about three years.
‘‘It’s not the Aswan High Dam or the Three Gorges Dam – you know we’re not talking $10 billion here – but it’s not the little Wai-iti dam either. Any time you get above $10m, you’re talking serious money, I think.’’
Meanwhile, three potential dam builders have been chosen from a pool of seven contractors who put up their hands for the job, however, a final decision is not expected before August.