Irrigation scheme still to proceed

What form it will take is now being worked through with the contractor in a redesigned scheme to meet the demand from farmers who had committed through the share uptake, Hunter Downs Water (HDW) project manager Stacey Scott says.

The deadline for the uptake of water and development shares in the $195m scheme was on April 28, after its initial April 10 deadline was extended.

However, despite the shortfall in share uptake, HDW says it is committed to proceed with a redesigned scheme that will meet the demand.

“We are also engaging to confirm the economic viability to reflect scale around the demand committed,” Scott says.

That, together with the next steps, was shared with the farmers who had backed the scheme at a meeting planned last week.

HDW chairman Andrew Fraser says while the demand does not support the proposed 21,000ha scheme, there is strong support for an irrigation scheme that would further secure the future of farming and the economy of South Canterbury.

Farmers who had not yet committed, but who were still interested, were encouraged by HDW at last week’s meeting to register their interest so it could be taken into account for future planning.

A total 21,000 shares were available at one share/ha of irrigation, with a seasonal allowance of a maximum 2.65mm/day through the season from September to April or May.

It was hoped that about 200 shareholders would subscribe to the scheme, designed for 161 water users with a maximum 214 offtakes.

Stage one construction was scheduled to start this month with a commissioning date of spring 2019. HDW proposed to use water from the Waitaki River to irrigate farmland between Timaru and Waimate.

The scheme received a $1.37m funding boost earlier in this year from Crown Irrigation Investments.