Council urged to reconsider options

The proposed Waimea dam was ‘‘old-school’’ thinking, and Tasman District Council should go back to the drawing board on water supply, says Forest & Bird top of the south regional manager Debs Martin.

‘‘Why aren’t you looking at water storage tanks and water conservation in urban areas?’’ Martin said. ‘‘Businesses can look at ways they can cut their water use and invest money in that. Put the cost where the cost lies.’’

She questioned whether the entire urban water supply needed to be at a potable standard to be put on ‘‘gardens and down toilets’’.

The best way to build resilience into the system might be an integrated approach ‘‘rather than one think-big solution solves all’’, she said.

‘‘I don’t think there’s a single silver bullet. The time should be taken to seriously look at what other alternatives there may be.

‘‘Forest & Bird always thought the cost was going to be a big issue with the dam. We thought the costs were underestimated.’’

Martin said the almost ‘‘singleminded’’ focus on a dam meant it was inevitable that the council got to a dam or no-dam scenario. Other options had not been explored to anywhere near the same extent, she said.

Meanwhile, council staff are to work on a proposed amendment to the Long Term Plan 2018-28, which is required before a final decision can be made not to proceed with the dam. The amendment is needed because stopping the dam project means a ‘‘significant change’’ to the levels of service for water supply and security signalled in the LTP.

A local bill related to the project is set to continue through the parliamentary process. Martin said she believed it was ‘‘crazy’’ to continue with the bill.