New water talks
Fresh look at storage options planned
The CHB community is being offered a second chance to have its say about water storage options.
CHB District Council councillors last week considered a proposal to provide a $250,000 suspensory loan to Water Holdings CHB Ltd, to look at solutions to the water quantity and quality problem in CHB.
Councillors voted unanimously to include the proposal in the Annual Plan consultation process, to begin later this year.
This means the loan proposal will be up for public consultation.
Council CEO Monique Davidson said the loan, if approved, would have no rating impact as it would come from the Rural Ward Fund.
“We think this is of high public interest and needs to have robust community consultation,” she said.
CHB Mayor Alex Walker said by adopting this for consultation, “this puts the empowerment into the hands of the community. It gives them direct influence on how this moves forward. The community hasn’t had the opportunity to do this, to date.”
Water Holdings CHB Ltd is a relatively new company, formed by six CHB shareholders; Hugh Ritchie, Gavin Streeter, Tim Gilbertson, Bruce Stephenson, Bruce Worsnop and Arthur Rowlands.
The company has an independent chairperson — Angus Mabin.
Water Holdings has purchased the intellectual property and consents from the failed Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme.
The company promotes itself as not for private profit from these assets.
At a public meeting held by the company recently, Angus Mabin described the six shareholders as “a group of very authentic, community minded CHB businesspeople and residents who have got the gorse out of their pockets, put their hands in them and come up with $100,000 to try to provide an enduring solution to CHB’s water problems.
“This is not the RWSS revisited, this is a search for an inclusive solution to provide water for all.
“Not just farming and irrigation . . . businesses, our towns and the environment. Iwi and the community need to be involved or this won’t pass go.”
Hugh Ritchie said the company doesn’t have a “grand plan”.
“We’re starting afresh, with no preconceived ideas.
“We need to understand our options, look at our opportunities and start this conversation with the public.”
“There are a lot of entrenched beliefs and positions out there and we want to back that truck up and restart the dialogue. This is about the water issues, not the history of the RWSS.
“We’re taking the RWSS knowledge — $18million worth — that we as ratepayers paid for, and we’re going to create some value from what’s been spent already.
“The low flows are a significant risk to many CHB businesses. We want to have something in play by 2023, this might seem to short a time frame but we have to give these businesses some hope. And we want to encourage new industry, new concepts.
“We need the vast majority with us and open conversation. If CHB wants this we will work bloody hard to get it to happen.”
‘This is not the RWSS revisited, this is not for profit, this is a search for an enduring, inclusive solution to provide ’ water for all.
ANGUS MABIN Water Holdings CHB Ltd