Return of Waiau water

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33875, 21 June 1975, Page 21

Return of Waiau water

Water drawn from ; the Waiau River for the proposed irrigation project will be returned to the Waiau, as well as the Pahau and Hurunui Rivers, the District Commissioner of Works) (Mr P. F. Reynolds) says in a Statement. He was replying 'to a cor-[ respondent Mr P. A. Burnett I who asked why all the water was not being returned to the Waiau River. Mr Burnett said: “Pre-: viously in ‘The Press,’ Mr P. F. Reynolds explained the: drait water allocation plan for the Waiau River irrigation. He stated it was not 40 or 50 per cent of the low; flow that is wanted but II cumecs. The Ministry of; Works and Development has J now applied for the right to take up to 950,400 cubic metres of water a day from the Waiau and to discharge up to 520,400 cubic metres a day as excess water into the Waiau, Pahau and Hurunui Rivers. In view of the ever mounting number of people : concerned that too much water is to be taken and : wasted, will the Commis-I please explain: (1)[ ; Why it has been found nec- - jessary to take 114 million; I gallons of water a day more) than required? (2) If this: [excess water must be taken,]

why is it not all returned to | the Waiau River?”. Replying to Mr Burnett, Mr Reynolds said: “I would i advise that an irrigation I scheme has to operate in differing situations and water rights must cover all | contingencies. “For .example, after general rain there is no need [for irrigation and the; ■ scheme will sit idle. In the Waiau Plains scheme when • there is no irrigation, excess ; water in the system will be discharged to the Pahau and i Hurunui Rivers as well as the Waiau. This is a matter ! of convenience. “if no rain falls, irrigators’ requests for water will build ,up until all the water avail- : able under the proposed right is being used, and dis-1 charges will be minimal. “The flow taken for the ; scheme may never exceed the right to take, but when river flows are ample it is best for operational and practical reasons to keep the system well filled with any unwanted water being discharged to the rivers.

. “The application for water [rights covers the extreme | situations when either the I diversion or the discharge of; | excess water is a maximum.”