Multi-Purpose Use Of Water

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31500, 14 October 1967, Page 9

Multi-Purpose Use Of Water

A major recreation area may soon be based on a man-made lake in the pleasant rolling countryside in the Scargill area about 50 miles from Christchurch. Boating, water ski-ing, fishing swimming, bowls and golf may all be possible.

The scheme 1* on the helically American concept of multl-purpoee use of water, with which some of the local residents are familiar. It' could well give a real fillip to the social and economic life of the district, which from a farming point of view is already in process of rapid development

A public recreation area of 130 acres between the Motunau garage and Scargill village will be the centre of the project At the request of residents of the Motunau and Scargill districts this area was acquired by the Waipara County Council about six years ago and is administered by a recreational committee, formerly under the chairmanship of Mr R. C. Overton, and now led by Mr T. G. MaxwelL Farmed By a large majority residents agreed to rate themselves so that the initial money could be provided to farm the area. Some 500 to 600 hoggets are now wintered on this country and from this activity a net income of about $lBOO a year has been derived.

Rentals are also obtained from sporting bodies. A nine-hole golf course is already located on the area and the committee are considering plans for a multi-pur-pose pavilion and the preparation of an oval for cricket and football.

The Scargill-Omihi Young Farmers’ Club has a permanent dog trial site on the reserve and a scout den is to be moved from the main road to this area.

Some waste land in the reserve has been planted in mainly pinus radiata by the Forest Service and a local committee interested in tree planting has made ornamental plantings on the area.

In the early stages of the reserve the Lands and Survey Department made available a grant for Investigation of a water supply for the area. This showed that there was no readily available supply and led ultimately to the major scheme to water 120,000 acres of farm lands from the Hurunui. A feeder line for this scheme incidentally runs across the recreation area. A creek runs through the recreation area. It la in a quite steep sided gully but there Is a considerable flat area adjacent to the stream and two or three years ago the idea was conceived locally of damming this and forming a lake.

At this stage the project was discussed with Mr D. R. Wilkie, district soil conservator, afid he posed the question as to whether this water could be used for recreational as well as other purposes. A preliminary investigation showed that the creek had little fall in the recreation area and that damming of it would provide a substantial area of water tor recreational purposer.

‘ Since then Mr Maxwell has visited the United States and through the courtesy of Dr D. A. Williams, chief administrator of the Soil Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, he. had the opportunity of visiting projects involving multi-purpose use of water in Virginia with Mr J. Rogen, foreign relations officer of the service. He has come back more than ever convinced that the Scargill site is most suitable for a lake and recreation area and that the district would be likely to derive substantial benefits from many angles.

In the United States Mr Maxwell visited Culpeper in Virginia, a small town depending entirely for its water supply on a man-made lake six miles away. This was a project that combined water supply, flood control and recreation and had resulted in the citing of new industries in the area. Similarly at Stanton he saw an area that depended on a series of man-made lakes for its water.

Mr Maxwell said he had been impressed in the way that these projects were financed on a low cost basis because they were estimated to have a life of 100 years over which payments could be made.

Now in the United States he had been told that no water would be impounded behind, a dam for flood control or water supply unless recreation was also one of the purposes served.

During his visit, Mr Maxwell said he had seen a site selected for a new dam at the head of a golf course. It was planned to have permanent pop-up sprinklers in the fairways for irrigation.

Mr Maxwell said he had been impressed by the way that ' water was valued in Virginia and Colorado, whereas in New Zealand, which was extremely well endowed in this respect, full use was not being made of this asset

In Colorado, he said, some 440,000 acres was under irrigation, mostly for production of com for use as silage in feedlots for beef production. It made one wonder why more was not done on the dry Canterbury plains where water was available.

Mr Wilkie said this week that the American concept was basically one of converting a liability from flooding into an asset Instead of high banks being built to channel water out to sea and pride being felt that not a drop was lost in the process, water was held for multi-purpose use—for flood control and Irrigation and water supply, for recreation including boating, fishing, swimming, etc. And the more times that water was used, or the more purposes it served, the cheaper the project became. It was a concept of using water in the best possible way.

The essential need for such a project as that at Seargill was to: have a stable catchment behind the dam, which involved the best use of the land without any erosion, a river or ereek with a relatively flat grade so that damming would be initially inexpensive, and sufficient adjoining land for recreation purposes.

It seemed that the site at Scargill was ideally suited for these purposes and preliminary investigation showed that an area of about 30 to 40 acres of water could be impounded behind a quite small earth dam about 30ft high. Such a scheme could of course provide for a lake of lesser size than this, but the larger project would probably be more economical and probably more desirable.

The dam ,would have to include flood control mechanisms, such as an adequate spillway and a flow control outlet, as well as rock rip rap to protect the dam face against wave lash. The cost of the whole project could be somewhere between $lO,OOO and $20,000, but these figures are not precise.

Mr Maxwell said this week that the area might well provide facilities for swimming, boating, yachting, and water ski-ing. The waters might also be stocked for fishing and islands could be provided in the lake as a sanctuary for wild life. There could be provision for irrigating the golf course and also possibly for irrigating adjacent farmland. The water too could be used for fire fighting and for stock.

The scheme will also afford a measure of flood control and under these circumstances such a dam could be eligible for Government subsidy. An area at the back of the site, which would not interfere with sporting activities, might also be suitable for cabins or holiday homes and for caravans.

At one of the meetings held in the district in connection with the project, an artist's impression of what the area might look like was given in a water colour by Miss Judith Morris. It showed a pavilion overlooking the lake with tennis courts and a bowling green nearby.

The availability of water also opens the possibility of quicker growth of shelter, shade and ornamental trees, which would be an essential part of such an area. Through the Waipara County Council a preliminary application has been made to the licensing committee for a tavern in the district and this is to be reviewed in two years’ time.

The soil and water division of the Ministry of Works have given engineering and conservation advice on the project and have undertaken a survey so that shortly residents in the area will be given details of what is involved in the scheme and the likely cost of the dam. Mr D. P. Hickey, Who Is in charge of conservation control works in North Canterbury, says that the project is quite feasible and Mr Wilkie says that they are pleased that people in this area could be interested enough to try out this concept of water use and

so give a lead to other areas In the multipurpose use of water.

The project could be the first of its type In Canterbury.

A member of the recreational committee, Mr C. N. Mackenzie, who is also chairman of the Waipara County Council and a member of the

Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council, says: “I am very sympathetic to the idea of this scheme. There is no doubt that it would provide an amenity that would be of value to the whole community.’’

Mr W. H. Brown, who is the adjacent land owner who would be most affected if the scheme was put into effect,

says that he would not want to stand in the way of anything that would be in the interests of the district, but at this stage he did not know enough about It to know how his livelihood would be affected.

Other sources noted that such a scheme could well enhance the value of surrounding land.