Drought may force well restrictions

Press, 4 September 1982, Page 1

Drought may force well restrictions

Canterbury farmers face new water restrictions this summer.

The drought means that the North Canterbury Catchment Board may for the first time restrict the amount of water taken from irrigation wells.

Board staff predict that groundwater levels in Canterbury will probably continue to sink towards the record low of the early 19705. Their forecast is based on a six-monthly check of about 600 well levels, which finished yesterday.

The board chairman, Mr M. J. O. Dixon, said yesterday that restricting water taken from wells was a “very real possibility" in some areas. The Water and Soil Conservation Act con-

tained such measures to cope with water shortages. “It is going to place the board in a singularly unpopular and thankless role," he said. There was nothing worse than water restrictions for a drought-stricken farmer.

The resource investigations manager, Mr M. J. Bowden, told a board meeting that although present groundwater levels were not far below the long-term average, wells had shown little or no recovery since the beginning of winter. No improvement was expected in summer. The lack of rain was the main factor, but the many wells sunk during the last few years of high ground-

water levels had aggravated the problem, he said. “We are talking about something like 20 metres below those levels." said Mr Bowden.

Areas relying on rainfall recharging the aquifers would be hardest hit. Christchurch was in a better position with 90 per cent of the city’s underground water coming from the snow-fed Waimakariri River.

The board agreed to a request from the Waimairi District Council to meet on September 13 to discuss falling groundwater levels in Waimairi. Mr Dixon said that there was no need to “press the panic button” now by organising a joint meeting with any other metropolitan councils.