Opuha Dam a ‘success story’: visiting Nats
Opuha Dam is a water storage ‘‘success story’’ National MPs would like to see adopted around the country.
The 20-year-old dam was the first stop yesterday for National’s Primary Industries Caucus Committee – hosted by Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon – as they toured Mid and South Canterbury’s primary industry spots.
On the trip were MPs Nathan Guy, Jacqui Dean, Matt King, Hamish Walker, and list MP Maureen Pugh, who also visited Heartland Potato Chips in Washdyke, the Managed Aquifer Recharge in Hinds, and spoke to South Canterbury community members about the future of primary industries.
Falloon felt it was important to bring as many of his colleagues to the area as possible to show its unique challenges.
Guy – party spokesman for agriculture, biosecurity, and food safety – said the dam had given South Canterbury’s economy a boost.
‘‘It’s a success story. It’s allowed farms to produce food through the dry summer months and has created hundreds of jobs for the area,’’ he said. ‘‘It was good for me to crystalise my thinking to ensure our policy development is not going to only benefit farmers, but the environment as well.’’
The purpose of the dam, 50 metres high and about 17km northeast of Fairlie, was to provide water for maintaining environmental flows in the downstream catchment, irrigation, and urban and industrial supplies.
Its single hydro turbine was fed by Lake Opuha, which covered 710 hectares and stored more than 74 million cubic metres of water.
Guy said the tour was ‘‘part of our provincial priorities tour’’ in preparation for the 2020 election.
‘‘The great thing about this is we have the potential to pick up policy ideas. It’s all about engaging, listening to people,’’ he said.
Those ideas would be incorporated into eight discussion documents – the first of which would be presented at National’s Bluegreens Forum in Raglan, today and tomorrow.
Guy said Falloon was ‘‘raising issues in Parliament on behalf of his community’’ – pointing to his efforts to get road user charges waived for the Nelson Fire Hay Convoy.
Falloon said he was disappointed Transport Minister Phil Twyford rejected his proposal. ‘‘It’s a lot of money for people giving up their time and resources but it’s not a lot of money for the Government.’’ One person sustained minor injuries when a car rolled on the Otematata River Bridge, on State Highway 83 in North Otago at about 7.50am yesterday. The crashed car blocked both lanes of the bridge for a period of time but the highway was open to normal traffic within about two hours.