Protest as TDC ponders future of dam project
Hundreds of Tasman district residents took to the streets of Richmond yesterday morning to make clear their opposition to the proposed Waimea dam.
Organised by Water Information Network Inc (WIN), the protest came three weeks after Tasman District Council revealed a blowout in estimated costs for the controversial project. Updated prices added about $26 million to an estimated $75.9m in capital costs required to complete the project.
Some protesters continued their demonstration outside as a full council meeting got under way. A go or no-go decision on the proposed dam, earmarked for the Lee Valley, is expected to be made by the council on August 28.
In the public forum of the meeting, some representatives from commercial and industrial users outlined their concerns about possible cuts to their water supply during a drought under a no-dam scenario, including Murray Sturgeon, of Nelson Pine Industries.
Sturgeon said NPI had 260 fulltime employees and its water use represented about 10 per cent of the reticulated water supply. Under a no-dam scenario in dry summers, it would face the possibility of ‘‘serious plant stoppages’’, which could put its reputation at risk. ‘‘This is not acceptable to our company or the region.’’
Earlier, protesters gathered on the footpaths outside the council offices, carrying balloons, flags
and placards with messages such as ‘‘The dam is a scam’’ and ‘‘Water is precious’’. There were also chants opposing the dam.
Supporters of the proposed dam also stood outside, including three generations of the Sutton family, who wanted to urge the council to continue with the project. Some of the group had placards with messages such as ‘‘Water for 100 years’’ and ‘‘No water = no work’’.
Richmond resident Murray Dawson, one of the founding members of WIN, said the protest had been organised because many people had concerns about the dam project as it was proposed, particularly the likely cost for ratepayers and the level of risk they could face.
Feedback WIN had received indicated that many people wanted a binding referendum on the project, he said.
Dawson said many people believed the ‘‘real alternatives’’ to the proposed dam had not been thoroughly investigated, nor had there been an ‘‘honest conversation’’ with Nelson City Council about integrating the two councils’ water systems. There was also concern that too much discussion by TDC on the dam project had been held behind closed doors.
WIN acting chairman Lewis Solomon said urban ratepayers would use a smaller percentage of the water than they paid for under the proposed funding model.
‘‘That just doesn’t work for me,’’ Solomon said, urging the council to stop the project.
Golden Bay resident Victoria Davis left the bay at 6.30am to join the demonstration. She said it was an outrage that Golden Bay fruit and vegetable growers had to pay rates ‘‘to subsidise their competition [on] the Waimea Plains’’.
Fellow Golden Bay resident Dr Roland Toder said ratepayers could not be expected to ‘‘fund this disaster’’.
‘‘Whether you support or oppose the dam, it doesn’t matter – it’s crossed a financial and economic threshold,’’ Toder said.
At $40m, the project was barely viable, he said. At $82.5m ‘‘with liabilities lopsided to the ratepayers’’, it was no longer viable.
The estimated project cost was now more than $100m, which Toder tipped would not be the end of the increases.
A supplementary document was tabled at the meeting with an outline of information required for councillors in time for the August 28 meeting. It included items such as the alternative options to the dam.
Cr Mark Greening asked at what fiscal point the discussion became academic.
Cr Paul Sangster said he was not going to be at the August 28 meeting, ‘‘and so I would like to make a decision today’’.
However, council chief executive Janine Dowding said that if a decision was made without all the available information, ‘‘council would be subject to judicial review’’.
Cr Kit Maling said it was imperative to get the additional information due on August 28, particularly on updated engineering costs for the alternatives. There might also be indications by that time on a council application for $18m to the Provincial Growth Fund.
‘‘To make the decision today, without that information, I think would be reckless,’’ Maling said.
Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne said it was ‘‘absolutely critical that we have the best assessment we can of the alternatives before we make a decision’’.
He also said he had received a letter from Waimea Irrigators Ltd chairman Murray King ‘‘confirming they are committed to contributing to bridging the [$26m] funding gap’’.