Irrigation estimates known soon

Press, 23 January 1984, Page 24

Irrigation estimates known soon

PA Dunedin Central Otago farmers will have to wait at least another two or three weeks before revised estimates of the Earnscleugh irrigation scheme are made public. The Assistant Commissioner of Works, Mr P. F. Reynolds, has said that it would take that long “to run through the figures, and then tell the Minister.” Farmers in the region fear there may be an overwhelming rise in the cost of the scheme, as happened with the Maniototo project last year. But the resident engineer with the Ministry in Alexandra, Mr R. Carstens, said yesterday the two schemes were not comparable. “We must make the differentiation that the Maniototo scheme ran into trouble well down the construction line,” he said. “The Earnscleugh scheme is only into the early stages of final design. It is quite in order for a review to be made.”

The review began in November, last year, he said, and a report on the scheme’s feasibility and its costs went to Wellington this week. As soon as the review is complete it would be made available, he said.

The Ministry had- never quoted farmers the water charges reported in yesterday’s “Otago Daily times,” Mr Carstens said.

“The only figures issued in terms of water charging were in a 1981 document, and were simply indicative figures.” These were ?46 a hectare for rostered water supply,

and $B5 a hectare for ondemand supply. Mr Carstens said the figures related to the amount of water the Ministry thought farmers would want and the amount of frost recorded.

“Therefore they are based on quantities of water, and related back to land.” Furthermore, “early

estimates for the scheme were based on pre-design figures.”

As a result, he believed that a rise in its cost is likely, but he did not know by how much.

While he said he understood the farmers’ concern, “I don’t believe they should fear we have lost the ability to do the scheme.”