Dam plan not dead in the water
A controversial proposal to build a multimillion-dollar dam in Nelson’s Lee Valley has been salvaged after gaining enough interest from prospective investors.
The Waimea dam project is a step close to reality after proponent Waimea Irrigators Ltd (WIL) reached its target for the scheme.
WIL had to get expressions of interest from water users on the Waimea Plains and surrounds for the purchase of at least 3000 shares at $5000 per hectare/share for the project to continue. Earlier this month, the project looked like it could be dead in the water.
‘‘In the absence of getting there, this project is dead,’’ WIL strategic adviser John Palmer warned. WIL project manager Natasha Berkett told Tasman district councillors on Thursdaythe target had been exceeded.
It is proposed money from the sale of shares will be used as a big chunk of $40 million in capital funding tipped to come from irrigators for the dam, which has an estimated cost of $82.5m. The remainder of the $40m is expected to come via a 15-year loan from Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd, which acts on behalf of the Government as a bridging investor for regional water infrastructure development. Other funds may come from Nelson City Council and the Ministry for the Environment.
Berkett said surveys seeking the expressions of interest had been sent to about 700 property owners in the scheme area with more than 1ha of land.
‘‘To date, we’ve had a response of around 300 properties with 270 of those indicating they would take shares and we have reached and exceeded our 3000 target,’’ she said.
The expressions of interest ranged from 147 shares for a single company to one share ‘‘with everything in between’’.
More than 200 properties were under 10ha, ‘‘so I think it’s important to recognise that the people . . . interested in securing water for their properties are not just large irrigators’’. ‘‘Most large landowners expressed a willingness to oversubscribe to the scheme – they’re that committed to seeing it progress,’’ Berkett said.
"Our next step is to work towards costing the infrastructure to get water to those areas."
There had also be expressions of interest from people who did not already have water permits.
‘‘So these are people [who] would like water in the future, would like to be able to develop their property.’’
‘‘Some people, for example, don’t understand the distinction between an unaffiliated and affiliated permit,’’ she said.
WIL would work on converting the expressions of interest into ‘‘actual signed-up shares’’ and ‘‘continue to build understanding of the scheme amongst potential shareholders’’. A product disclosure statement was anticipated mid-year.
‘‘We will be working towards our ultimate target, which is not 3000 – it’s 5000 shares and every day between now and when those 5000 shares are completely sold, we’ll keep working towards that,’’ Berkett said.
Some of those additional 2000 shares would come from adjacent areas such as Mount Heslington and Redwood Valley.
‘‘Our next step is to work towards costing the infrastructure to get water to those areas,’’ Berkett said.
Later in the meeting, Cr Mark Greening said he would like to ensure the council was auditing the WIL survey responses ‘‘for our own reassurance as well’’. TDC chief executive Lindsay McKenzie said he imagined that during negotiations, confirmation of the list would be sought and provided.
Meanwhile, it looks likely there will be a single round of public consultation by the TDC on the proposed dam, not a two-stage process as earlier agreed by councillors.
McKenzie told councillors there was unlikely to be time for two rounds. Councillors gave themselves the option of a single round of consultation if information was delayed when they agreed to the two-stage programme on March 2.