Lower Waitaki irrigators yesterday attacked Meridian Energy Ltd and its $1.1 billion plans for the lower Waitaki River, suggesting the Government-owned company wants to control all the water from the Waitaki dam to the sea.
The irrigators have now made it clear they oppose Meridian's $900 million north bank tunnel concept power scheme and a joint venture with the South Canterbury Irrigation Trust to build the Hunter Downs irrigation scheme in the Waimate district at a cost of up to $200 million.
Both schemes last year went through resource consents hearings in Timaru, but no decisions have been made on the applications.
The message from irrigators was delivered yesterday to an Environment Canterbury panel sitting in Oamaru, which has finished a hearing into 56 applications to use water below the Waitaki dam and in the Hakataramea catchment.
Their latest concern, recently revealed, is loss of water for the major irrigation schemes below Black Point when the north bank tunnel is shut down - estimated at 7% of the time.
The Mid River New Applicants Group chairman, Matt Ross, yesterday represented all irrigators in his final submission to the hearings panel.
Irrigators had been trying to reach an agreement with Meridian for enough water to be released from the Waitaki dam to ensure irrigation at the existing high reliability of supply.
"Irrigators have all participated in discussions in good faith and with integrity. This has been at a substantial cost, not only in time and money," he said.
They had reached agreement among themselves on a flow regime that was acceptable to all, including major irrigation companies.
Mr Ross said the fact there was common ground between irrigators was a major achievement, given irrigation interests did not always converge.
No agreement had been reached with Meridian during negotiations over the past 18 months.
Irrigators were finding it difficult to accept Meridian was a "genuine participator".
Meridian did not seem to have any regard for a proposed solution if it did not instigate it or it may have to consider an alternative method of operating its Waitaki hydro system.
That position and Meridian's method of negotiation precluded an agreement being reached, despite irrigators participating in the genuine belief a deal could be reached.
The scheme would result in a big change to the way the Waitaki power system was operated, but Meridian was saying irrigators had to bear the effects, he said.
