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A decision on the controversial Central Plains Water (CPW) irrigation scheme will be delayed for at least nine months by another round of hearings. The commissioners, who have knocked back plans for a 55-metre-high dam in the Waianiwaniwa Valley, will hear further evidence in October on a reduced, run-off-river scheme. A decision should be released by the end of February, they say. More hearings to finalise conditions, if consents were granted, could bring "further months" of delays. The resumption is a blow to anxious opponents, some of whom have a notice of requirement over their land, but they have vowed to fight on despite the extra cost. Hearing panel chairman Philip Milne said in a minute released yesterday that further evidence would be heard for about a week in October on the reduced scheme. The panel needed to understand the implications of the dam's removal on the irrigable area and the annual or seasonal volumes of take from the Waimakariri and Rakaia rivers, he said. "Certainly we are not in a position without hearing further evidence of being able to conclude that the amended proposal (whatever it may be) will inevitably be less sustainable," he said. "We must ensure that the take is sustainable. We must also ensure that the takes have no greater effects than what was originally proposed." The panel have dismissed pleas this month from opponents to close the hearing and issue a final decision. The delay was not "undue", the minute said, and there was no prejudice to potential submitters. Malvern Hills Protection Society spokeswoman Rosalie Snoyink said 500 properties were affected by the scheme's distribution canals and 60 by the headrace. "This issue is still very much alive to them," she said. "We are disappointed. They [the commissioners] say the delays are not onerous, but there's a lot of angst out there and the sooner that's removed from people the better." The fight had cost tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and engaging expert witnesses, she said. Snoyink said with further hearings, the figure may top six figures. CPW chairman Pat Morrison was confident the evidence would convince the commissioners the scheme was sustainable. "The concept ... was to have storage because of the massive amounts of water that flow out to sea. This time it won't [have storage]." This week the commissioners will issue final approval for the Ashburton Community Water Trust's hydro scheme to take up to 40 cubic metres of water a second from the Rakaia River |
