Hurunui RiverI don't like the sound of this.
"The Hurunui Water Project (HWP) plans to build a 75-metre high dam in the south branch of the Hurunui River, creating a 7km-long lake, papers filed with Environment Canterbury show.
Together with a weir that would raise Lake Sumner's level by up to 3.2m, an extra 138 million cubic metres of water would be stored for irrigation."
"Dairying now occupies 9 per cent of HWP's irrigable area, but 45 per cent of the land is expected to convert to dairy if the irrigation plan is approved.
Environmentalists are outraged, especially because of a proposed water-conservation order for the Hurunui River."
Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said the project "will effectively privatise what is a public resource, which is a wild river, and using the water to carry out a huge dairy conversion in Canterbury".
"The implications are that we will lose one of the last wild rivers," he said.
Forest & Bird South Island conservation manager Chris Todd called the plan "outrageous".
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is almost certain to oppose it.
Canterbury conservator Mike Cuddihy said yesterday the proposal ran "completely counter" to a conservation order."
We don't want this river dammed. We need to protect the mauri of the Hurunui. A 75 metre high dam - 75 metres!
Who the hell are these Hurunui Water Project people?
"HWP is owned by the Hurunui Irrigation and Power Trust, Ngai Tahu Property, Mainpower and Eskhead Station."
So there you go.
Why is NT Property involved in a project to harm a Ngai Tahu river?
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