Voting papers have been sent out for 44 people to have a say on whether the Otekaieke water race should be sold for a dollar by the Waitaki District Council to a private company set up by a group of farmers.
Those who can vote on the issue are people who live in the area served by the race.
They have until noon on July 31 to return their postal ballots.
The council's electoral officer, Joanne Firman, said people who had not received voting papers but believed they had a right to vote should contact the council to find out if they qualified for a special vote.
The council is proposing to sell the 10km race, its Otekaieke River intake and reticulation to the Otekaieke Water Company, which wants to develop it.
The race does not supply drinking water, but is used for irrigation and stock water.
The referendum is the first step.
If a majority votes in favour of the company buying the water race, eight further conditions have to be met before any sale could take place.
These include the company having a satisfactory management plan, meeting all the costs, an opinion from the medical officer of health and the company complying with legal requirements.
