| 51 Murray Farm team. MEAT & WOOL » Lone Star Farms Future-proofwater infrastructure The team at Rangiora-based irm Matai Consultants has been working closely with North Otago-based sheep and beef farmer Matt Smith of Lone Star Farms, who is in the process of having a brand new water storage dam installed on his farm in the Hakataramea Valley. Matai Consultants directors and owners Paul Reese and Brendon Jolly have had a long standing relationship with Matt and Lone Star Farms having worked on other irrigation projects for Matt and with Lone star farms. The current work is focused on the design and consenting of a new 148,000m3 storage dam, the goal being long-term, reliable and it for purpose water infrastructure that will meet Matt’s needs on his Hakataramea Valley sheep and beef farm well into the future. “It’s quite a large ‘earth’ dam. Brendon has managed the engineering design of the dam and our team have applied for the consent with Environment Canterbury. As the dam is lower than 4 metres a building consent isn’t needed but a consent to do ‘earthworks over an aquifer”, Paul explains. The work we are doing includes all the engineering, drawings and the Request For Proposals (RFPs) and management of the tenders. “We started with a review of what was there, looked at demand against supply and that helps to inform the design. The site and location is a critical factor with storage dams, so there is quite a bit of work and many factors that need to be well-considered, before the design work is even started. We have engineers that we work with to sign o on the structure too, so it’s all peer-reviewed,” Paul explains. Paul has over two decades farming; ive years project management and nine years environmental and irrigation consulting experience. He is a quali ied farm dairy e luent designer and WoF assessor and an experienced and accredited farm environmental plan auditor. While Brendon has more than 25 years of experience in farm infrastructure design, specialising in on farm irrigation but has also designed community irrigation schemes. Brendon is considered a ‘go to’ in the irrigation industry. “Brendon and I have been in business together for over 6 years now. We work very well together and our skills complement each other. We have built up a great team of six people and with Ben Donaldson, our newest irrigation engineer, based in Alexandra we can cover the whole of the south Island. The consent work involves assessment of e ects and navigating through the council requirements.” Paul says. Matai Consultants core business is water engineering and environmental consulting (of which irrigation is a big part) and that encompasses everything from consent; to management, design, installation, engineering and reviews. There are two sides to the business; the engineering aspect and the environmental side (covering consent, compliance and farming land use). “If someone has a rough concept of what they want, we go onsite and then get a proposal to them, including an approximate cost – we can always ind a suitable solution,” Paul explains of the initial process. Matai Consultants have designed and project managed many projects; including a large staged 1600ha irrigation development near Twizel, potable water supplies for Grasmere lodge, many irrigation developments on farm for orchards, vineyards and pasture, ish screen installations and numerous consents for riverbed works, farming land use and many other projects. With great feedback so far, many more projects in the pipeline in 2025 and a broadening scope of work including water-quality testing, things are looking very positive for the team of six in the years ahead. Forward thinking, future proofed, and tailored solutions for your farm. Irrigation Effluent Environmental Consents & Compliance Farm Systems Farm Infrastructure Supporting farmers tomeet and exceed industry regulations, whilemaximising efficient resource use. www.matai.nz 027 731 4433 | paul@matai.nz 027 222 6146 | brendon@matai.nz
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