A secure future through improved water management
Waimea Irrigators Limited was formed with the purpose of establishing, in conjunction with Tasman District Council, Nelson City Council and other stakeholders, a long-term solution to the region’s water shortages.
We are passionate about supporting water users, big and small, on the Waimea Plains and surrounding areas. We know that having access to the right amount of water at the right time is essential to grow our local economy, and provide jobs and opportunities for future generations.
Many people have been working on a regional water supply solution for at least a decade. There have been numerous water options considered and debated. The best of these options, the Waimea Community Dam, has been chosen because it meets a number of ‘must haves’. It will provide:
- irrigation of approximately 5000 hectares of land on and immediately adjacent to the Waimea Plains
- urban water supply for nearby parts of Tasman District for the next 100 years, and make some provision for
- Nelson City’s future water supply needs
- an additional volume for potential regional water supply
- security of supply for consumptive water demands to an approximate 60-year return period drought standard
- an instream minimum flow in the Waimea River of 1100 l/s at Appleby Bridge; i.e. this is the flow that has to be retained in the river after all abstractions for consumptive uses have been made.
Waimea Irrigators Limited is a significant partner in the development of the Waimea Community Dam. Our contribution to the construction costs of the dam is likely to be around $40m. Part of this money will come from direct investor equity (i.e. shares held by water users) and up to $25 million will come from a loan from Crown Irrigation Investments Limited.
Water users who purchase shares from Waimea Irrigators Limited will have a Water Augmentation Agreement that will set out the Terms and Conditions for the release of water to each shareholder, including the payment of water user charges.
Waimea Irrigators Limited released a Shareholder Information Document and Survey in February 2017 to potential shareholders in the Waimea Community Dam Scheme Area. Expressions of interest in the purchase of at least 3000 shares was necessary for the dam project to proceed to the next stage and that target was achieved.
Currently, we are drafting the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for the share offer. It is anticipated that this document will be released in early February 2018. Please take the time between now and February to contact any one of WIL’s Directors or the Project Manager if you have any questions about purchasing shares. You may also wish to seek professional advice over this time.
We’ve provided some data on the number of days of rationing that would have occurred over the period 1973-2013, if the new (2018) TRMP rules had been in place over that time, for a ‘no-dam’ scenario and for unaffiliated water users. You can find that information here.
We will provide timely newsletters to potential shareholders on our progress. To receive these newsletters, please sign up below. More information on the Waimea Community Dam is available at www.waimeawater.nz.