Hurunui dam opposed

Press, 2 December 1978, Page 20

Hurunui dam opposed

A proposed small hydroelectric scheme on the Hu-

runui River cannot be justified, according to the Canterbury branch of Friends of the Earth. A plan of the scheme made public by the North Canterbury Electric-Power Board is inadequate, lacks detail, and fails to justify the scheme in terms of projected need for electricity in th South Island, the group has told the board.

The board plans to build a 90m. earth dam on the north branch of the river, flooding about 12km of the north branch and increasing the size of Lake Sumner 60 per cent. Friends of the Earth say that investing in further generating plant is a waste of money because there is expected to be more than enough elec-

tricity in 10 to 15 years to meet demand.

It says future powerprice increases will restrain demand to a point where schemes like the Hurunui one will not be needed. More emphasis on conservation can also be expected to have an effect on power use. The group says that some important points have not been raised by the board, such as how much potentially productive land would be lost and the effect of flooding vegetation around Lake Sumner. It believes that the draft management plan for the forest park in the area was drawn up with an admitted lack of ecological knowledge of the area. “A full environmentalimpact report is clearly a prerequisite for any d’eci-sior.-making on the power scheme,” it savs.