Central Plains Water, or, more fully, the Central Plains Water Enhancement Scheme, is a large-scale proposal for water diversion, damming, reticulation and irrigation for the Central Plains of Canterbury, New Zealand. Construction started on the scheme in 2014.
The original proposal involved diversion of water, the construction of a storage dam, tunnels and a series of canals and water races to supply water for irrigation to an area of 60,000 hectares on the Canterbury Plains. Water will be taken from the Rakaia and Waimakariri Rivers.
In June 2010, resource consents for the scheme were approved in a revised form without the storage dam. From 2010 to 2012, the resource consents were under appeal to the Environment Court. In July 2012, the resource consents for the scheme were finalised by the Environment Court.
The Central Plains Water Enhancement Scheme originated as a feasibility study jointly initiated and funded by Christchurch City Council and Selwyn District Council.
The Central Plains Water Enhancement Scheme is contentious. It is opposed by community, recreation and environment groups, some city and regional councillors, and some corporate dairying interests. The scheme is supported by Christchurch City Council and Selwyn District Council staff and some councillors, irrigation interests, consultants, farming interests, and more recently, some corporate dairying interests.
Scope.
Canterbury Regional Council has summarised the scope of the Central Plains Water enhancement scheme as follows;
'The applicants propose to irrigate 60,000 hectares of land between the Rakaia and Waimakariri Rivers from the Malvern foothills to State Highway One. Water will be abstracted at a rate of up to 40 m3/s from two points on the Waimakariri River and one point on the Rakaia River. The water will be irrigated directly from the river and via a storage system. The proposal includes a 55-metre high storage dam within the Waianiwaniwa Valley and associated land use applications for works within watercourses.'
The proposed dam would be about 2 kilometres long, with a maximum height of 55 metres, with a base width of about 250 metres, and 10 m wide crest, with a capacity of 280 million cubic metres. The dam would be 1.5 kilometres north east of the town of Coalgate. The two rivers and the reservoir would be connected by a headrace canal, 53 kilometres long, 5 metres deep and 30 metres wide (40–50 metres including embankments). Water would be delivered to farmers via 460 kilometres of water races, ranging in width from 14 to 27 metres, including the embankments.
A brief history.
In 1991, Christchurch City Council and the Selwyn District Council, in their annual planning process, agree on a feasibility study on irrigation of the Central Plains. The two councils provide a budget and set up a joint steering committee. In 2000, the steering committee contracts consulting firm URS New Zealand Limited to prepare a scoping report. In late 2001, the steering committee applies for resource consent to take 40 m3/s of water from the Rakaia River and the Waimakariri River. In January 2002, the steering committee releases the feasibility study and seeks to continue the project.
In 2003, the Central Plains Water Trust was set up to apply for resource consents, and the Trust establishes a company, Central Plains Water Limited, to raise funds from farmers via a share subscription. In 2004 Central Plains Water Limited issued a share prospectus and the share subscription is over-subscribed. In November 2005, further consent applications for land and water use were lodged with Canterbury Regional Council and Central Plains Water Limited becomes a 'requiring authority'. In June 2006, further consent applications for land use and a notice of requirement, the precursor to the use of the Public Works Act to compulsorily acquire land, are lodged with Selwyn District Council.
In July 2007, the trustees of Central Plains Water Trust informed Christchurch City Council that they had run out of money to fund the lawyers and consultants needed for the consent and notice of requirement hearings. Christchurch City Council gave approval for Central Plains Water Limited to borrow up to $4.8 million from corporate dairy farmer Dairy Holdings Limited. The hearing to decide the resource consent applications and submissions and the notice of requirement commenced on 25 February 2008.
In September 2012, Selwyn District Council approved a loan of $5 million to Central Plains Water Limited for the design stage.
Supporters.
The Central Plains Water enhancement scheme has had a small but influential group of supporters, some of whom have been involved as steering committee members, trustees and company directors. The supporters have included development-minded council politicians, council staff with water engineering backgrounds, directors of council-owned companies, farmer representatives and consultants. The advancement of the scheme appears to have coincided with career moves and business interests of some of these supporters.
The initial membership of Central Plains Water Enhancement Steering Committee consisted of Councillor Pat Harrow (Christchurch City Council) and Councillors Christiansen and Wild (Selwyn District Council) and Doug Marsh, Jack Searle, John Donkers, Willie Palmer and Doug Catherwood. Christchurch City councillor Denis O'Rourke was soon added and Doug Marsh became chairperson.
Doug Marsh is now the Chairperson of the Central Plains Water Trust and a director of Central Plains Water Limited. He describes himself as a "Christchurch-based professional (company) director" Doug Marsh appears to specialise in council-owned companies. Doug Marsh is also the Chairman of the board of the Directors of the Selwyn Plantation Board Ltd, the Chairman of Plains Laminates Ltd, Chairman of the Canterbury A &amp; P Board, Chairman of Southern Cross Engineering Holdings Ltd, a Director of City Care Ltd, a Director of Electricity Ashburton Ltd and a Director of Hindin Communications Ltd Denis O'Rourke and Doug Catherwood, who were two of the original members of the steering committee, are now Trustees of the Central Plains Water Trust.
Allan Watson, who was the Christchurch City Council Water Services Manager in 1999, had a very important role. Watson wrote most of the reports submitted to the Christchurch City Council strategy and resources committee between late 1999 and 2003. Watson wrote the initial report to the Christchurch City Council strategy and resources committee that set up the Central Plains joint steering committee. Watson wrote the crucial report in February 2002 that recommended that the scheme be considered feasible and that the role of the steering committee be continued.
Watson had previously been the Malvern County Engineer for 10 years. Allan Watson now works for the consulting firm GHD and he has publicly represented GHD as the project managers for the Central Plains Water Enhancement scheme.
In 2000, Walter Lewthwaite was one of the original Christchurch City Council employees supporting the joint Steering Committee. Lewthwaite had 30 years experience in water engineering and 14 years experience in managing irrigation projects. In November 2005, Lewthwaite was a Senior Environmental Engineer employed by URS New Zealand Limited, and the project manager and co-author of the application for resource consents lodged with Canterbury Regional Council. By June 2006, Lewthwaite was an Associate of URS New Zealand Limited. In September 2006, Lewthwaite also prepared information to support the applications to Selwyn District Council.
Opponents.
The Central Plains Water Enhancement Scheme is opposed by farmers and community, recreation and environment groups. Opponents include; 
Between 1,192 and 1,316 of public submitters oppose the 64 notified consent applications lodged with Canterbury Regional Council and between 153 and 172 submissions are in support. The range of numbers of submitters given is presumably due to some of the submissions specifying some specific consent applications rather than all of the applications included in the proposal.
Costs.
The estimated construction costs of the scheme have doubled since the 2002 'feasibility' study and have increased by 500% since the first scoping study.
In December 2000, the initial scoping study estimated the total cost of the scheme to be $NZ120 million or $1,190.48 per hectare irrigated.
By September 2001, the estimated scheme cost was $NZ201.7 million or $2,400 per hectare irrigated.
In February 2002, when Christchurch City Council and Selwyn District Council were presented with the feasibility study, the estimated scheme cost was $NZ235 million for 84,000 hectares or $2,798 per hectare irrigated.
At 1 April 2004, the estimated scheme cost was $NZ372 million for 60,000 hectares or $6,200 per hectare irrigated.
In January 2006, Central Plains Water Limited director John Donkers stated that the total cost was $NZ367 million for 60,000 hectares or $NZ6,117 per hectare.
In December 2007, the estimate of the total cost of the scheme appeared to be $6,826 per hectare irrigated.
On 19 February 2008, the evidence of Walter Lewthwaite, one of the principal engineering witnesses for Central Plains Water Trust, became available from the Canterbury Regional Council website. Lewthwaite states that in early 2007 he compiled and supplied an estimate of the total scheme cost to Mr Donnelly (the economist) and Mr MacFarlane (the farm management consultant) for their use in providing the economic analysis. The estimate was $NZ409.6 million for a scheme area of 60,000 hectares, or $6,826 per hectare irrigated.
The feasibility study stage.
The constitution and terms of reference for the Central Plains Water Enhancement Steering Committee was approved on 14 February 2000. The terms of reference had these two objectives:
The feasibility studies also had a required level of detail:The level of detail of these studies shall be sufficient to allow decisions to be made by the Councils on the advisability of proceeding to resource consent applications and scheme implementation.
By February 2001, the steering committee had identified 27 tasks that would be necessary to complete the feasibility study. The list of tasks is comprehensive; it included the assessment of economic effects, benefits, environmental effects, social effects, cultural effects, risks, planning, land accessibility, and environmental and technical feasibility, and consentability. Item 23 was specifically entitled 'Land Accessibility'.
On 11 February 2002 the Central Plains Water Enhancement Steering Committee presented the URS feasibility report and their own report to a joint meeting of the two 'parent' Councils. On 18 February 2002 the reports were presented to the Strategy and Finance committee of the Christchurch City Council.
The conclusion of the URS feasibility study was stated fairly firmly;"that a water enhancement scheme for the Central Plains can be built, is affordable, will have effects that can be mitigated, and is therefore feasible"
The Steering Committee's conclusion was much less firm."the affordability, bankability and consentability of the proposed scheme has been proved to a degree sufficient to give the Selwyn District Council and Christchurch City Councils confidence to proceed with the project to the next stage."
The Steering Committee had not provided a full conclusion on a number of issues from the list of 27 feasibility study tasks. They had instead simply moved the resolution of a number of the important issues from the feasibility study stage to a new stage to be called 'concept refinement'. The issues to be dealt with later were;
Court actions with other competing abstractors.
Central Plains Water Trust has been in some lengthy litigation with Ngāi Tahu Properties Limited and Synlait. The three entities have resource consents or applications for resource consents to take the same water - the remaining water from the Rakaia and Waimakariri Rivers, allocated for abstraction by the Rakaia Water Conservation Order or the Waimakariri Rivers Regional Plan. The issue before the courts is 'who has first access to limited water? The first to have consent granted? The first to file an application to take water? The first to file all necessary applications? The first to have replied to requests for information so that the application is complete and therefore 'notifiable'? The cases have been appealed up to the Supreme Court.
Ngāi Tahu Properties Limited.
On 28 January 2005, Ngāi Tahu Properties Limited had applied for competing resource consents to take 3.96 m³/s of water from the Waimakariri River and use it for irrigation of 5,700 hectares of land to the north of the Waimakariri River. On 17 September 2005 the Ngai Tahu applications were publicly notified. A hearing before independent commissioners was held in February 2006. On 26 and 27 June 2006, Ngāi Tahu Properties Limited sought a declaration from the Environment Court that their application to take water from the Waimakariri River had 'priority' over the 2001 CPWT application and therefore could be granted before the CPWT application.
On 22 August 2006, the Environment Court released a decision that Ngāi Tahu Properties Limited had priority to the remaining 'A' allocation block of water from the Waimakariri River over the Central Plains Water Trust application.
The Central Plains Water Trust then appealed the decision to the High Court on the