Deputy mayor: 'silly' to shun Ruataniwha dam water

ON THE TABLE: Central Hawke's Bay Deputy Mayor Ian Sharp says Ruataniwha dam water must be an option the council considers as a source for its municipal supplies. PHOTO/PAUL TAYLOR

Central Hawke's Bay District Council would be acting irresponsibly if it did not look to the Ruataniwha dam as a potential source for its town water supplies, the district's deputy mayor says.

A meeting of the council yesterday ratified a decision made by its finance and services committee earlier in the month to take water from the Ruataniwha water storage scheme (RWSS) for municipal supply in Otane, Waipawa, Waipukurau and Takapau.

The council's position was changed slightly, however, with the committee's resolution that the council "agree to take water from the RWSS for municipal supply subject to favourable contract terms" amended yesterday to include the phrase "favourable contract terms and conditions".

"We need to be looking to make sure we have a secure water supplier and I think this council would be irresponsible to ignore the Ruataniwha water storage scheme as a source of water," Deputy Mayor Ian Sharp said at the meeting.

The district council is in discussions with Hawke's Bay Regional Investment Company (HBRIC), the architects of the Ruataniwha scheme, and details of what it would cost the council to take water from the dam are subject to negotiations.

The scheme itself is yet to get the green light, with HBRIC giving itself a deadline of next March to secure funding and sufficient irrigator interest in the proposed $275 million project.

If the scheme does go ahead, water from the proposed Ruataniwha dam on the Makaroro River is expected to be available to farmers and for urban reticulation in 2018.

The costs involved in connecting CHB townships to the scheme will be included in a review of the district council's long-term plan which will be put out for public consultation next year.

Some residents have questioned whether the council has the authority to agree to take water from the scheme without public consultation given the cost involved made it a "significant activity" under the Local Government Act.

But council chief executive John Freeman told yesterday's meeting the opportunity for consultation would occur through the long-term plan process.

"All that information will come to the public as part of the LTP process when we have a final idea of where it's going to go, how much it's actually going to cost, what infrastructure work we're going to build," Mr Freeman told councillors.

Councillor Sally Butler said the council had resource consents to take municipal water, which expired in 2028. It was also facing the impact of Plan Change 6, a new management regime which includes changes to minimum river flows that could affect the availability of water for the council.

"There are going to be a whole lot of changing parameters that we will have to cope with and we would be remiss if we didn't look at all possible alternatives," Mrs Butler said.

Councillor Mark Williams said there were already residents not connected to the municipal water supply who wanted to be and demand would likely increase if the Ruataniwha scheme went ahead.

"So I think we would be really silly if we didn't look at this as a viable option," he said.