10 | Boutique irrigation The scheme was designed and built to irrigate the consented 1860 hectares allowing for a further 660 hectares as spare capacity. Richard Loader IRRIGATION » Haka Valley Irrigation Scheme Drawing water from the reliable Waitaki River, the Haka Valley Irrigation Scheme could be seen as boutique in size and capacity, but it is an impressive feat of engineering. Commissioned in 2014, the scheme currently serves three shareholders and has consent to irrigate up to 1860 hectares, of which only 1200 hectares is currently being irrigated. Full name, Hakataramea Valley, the farming area is located in Southern Canterbury, near Kurow and sits in the northern side of the Waitaki River. The idea of some form irrigation had been oated several decades ago but got serious in the early 2000s when a couple of source options were considered including Lake Tekapo. Consensus fell on the Waitaki River, pumping water up and over the hill and into the Valley, with consent granted from ECAN to take 2000L/sec. Local dairy farmer Andy Hayes has been the scheme Chairman for the last seven years and says the consent sat for a number of years, before the property owners at the bottom of the valley close to the Waitaki River got motivated. “In 2008 Haka Valley Irrigation Ltd (HVIL) was established, and one designer was contracted to design a scheme, but failed. After that, two or three other shareholders didn’t want to proceed. We ended up buying them out when an outside investor bought some property in the valley and wanted to get as much water out of the scheme as possible.” That investor had contact with Gerard van den Bosch, who owned Bosch Irrigation Ltd, and had been involved in the design and construction of a number of other irrigation schemes. Gerard quickly got on board, designing the scheme to take water from the river and carry it over a 170-metre hill to the valley below. “The scheme really came down to three wet shareholders — myself and two others —and two dry shareholders. Wet shareholders held the irrigation shares and had to provide funds to install the scheme. Dry shareholders had part ownership of the consent, and that was all. The wet shareholders were 100% committed to building the scheme. We had to reapply to Ecan, who were prepared to grant 1000 litres per second, but no more, and that was enough to irrigate 1860 hectares in the valley.” Contract development of the scheme commenced in 2013, with Beca engaged to manage the project, and Bosch Irrigation engaged to install the scheme. “We used Barfoote Construction from Whangarei to build two pump sheds. The rst pump lifts the water out of the river up 70 metres where a second booster pump shed lifts the water another 100 metres to a 20,000 cubic metre lined holding pond. The pond acts as a control system for twenty-four pumps via bre optic cable. If the pond is full the pumps shut off. As water is taken from the pond, the pumps start back up again.” The last wet shareholder is quite some distance away in the valley and it was agreed that some of his mainline pipe would be privately owned outside of the Scheme. “The scheme was designed and built to irrigate the consented 1860 hectares allowing for a further 660 hectares as spare capacity. That meant a few more pumps and motors and larger piping, but there is quite a lot of spare capacity in the scheme if other shareholders/farmers do want to jump on, which future proofed the scheme. It was nally commissioned in autumn 2014, eight months later than expected.” While Andy is the only shareholder milking cows, the other two shareholders provide dairy grazing/ support. The Haka valley is predominantly extensive dryland farming, and Andy says there was a bit of reaction with dairy farming/grazing coming into the valley. “There was a lot of development going on with pivots going in, ground clearing, trees being taken out, diggers everywhere and some people were against some of the effects intensive farming could have on the valley. Ecan then reviewed our consent due to the local concern and HVIL had to make minor adjustments to its on farm practices. Suddenly, minor/dry creeks were deemed as a major waterways and we had to move set-back fences from three or four metres to twelve metres. We also have had to manage where cows were wintered and irrigation boundaries adjusted. The bene t of this has meant HVIL is ahead of the game with environmental sustainability requirements.” While the scheme is small in comparison to some of the other Waitaki irrigation schemes that irrigate 20,000 hectares, Andy says if you went to do it now, the cost would be prohibitive. “We were about $4.8m to install and commission the scheme then. To irrigate in the Haka Valley now would be really challenging due to the high cost and consent restrictions. Building the scheme has been very challenging but the reward is noticed every year when shareholders can turn on a valve and start irrigating when needed.” Tony Green Engineering, Kurow - Proud to be part of the Operations Management Team for the Hakataramea Irrigation Scheme. Irrigation Scheme Support & Maintenance | Pump Servicing Problem Solving Engineering Contact Tony - 021 338 696 David Goodman, Partner p: 03 335 1235 m: 027 787 8785 david.goodman@al.nz Anderson Lloyd is the trusted legal advisor for major players in New Zealand’s irrigation sector, with a proven ability to deliver results. We have advised on numerous existing and proposed schemes in the North and South Islands and act for individual farmers and agribusinesses. Sarah Eveleigh, Partner p: 03 335 1217 m: 027 204 1479 sarah.eveleigh@al.nz Pivotal. Our specialist team advises on all aspects associated with large-scale irrigation schemes including banking, capital raising, commercial contract, resource management and construction matters.
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