4 | “Water is New Zealand’s competitive advantage and our region will now be able to use it to support and grow our local economy and environment.” T T to page 6 Waimea Water Dam - Tasman Council T T Richard Loader Dam a lifeline to farmers, growers REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT The Waimea Community Dam is a courageous gamechanger that will secure water supply in the Nelson Tasman region for the next one hundred plus years. Providing a vital lifeline to farmers and growers in the region, it is the first publicly funded large dam built in New Zealand since the Clyde Dam was completed in 1992. Located on the Lee River in the Lee Valley, just southeast of Brightwater, the dam is one of the region’s most important infrastructure projects ever. The dam’s reservoir, named Te Kurawai o Puhanga, contains approximately 13 million cubic metres/13 billion litres of water. Waimea Water Ltd (WWL) was established in 2018 as a Council-Controlled Organisation (CCO) to manage the construction, operation and maintenance of the dam. The project began in March 2019, with site works commencing August 2019. The dam’s Constructor was a joint venture by Fulton Hogan and Taylors Contracting Ltd. Wellington consultancy Damwatch Engineering Ltd provided engineering for the dam, ensuring it was constructed in accordance with the design. Their work was peer reviewed by GHD Engineering. Since the beginning of 2024, Waimea Water’s focus has been the dam’s completion, so it could provide water for the region during the very dry summer and autumn season. A NIWA ‘Hotspot Watch’ report from 15 February 2024 included eastern Tasman and Nelson as a ‘Hotspot, reporting very dry to extremely dry conditions. On Saturday the 2nd of March the first water was released from the reservoir Te Kurawai o Pūhanga through a small dispersing valve, curtailing water restrictions from that day on. “The release of water was just in the nick of time,” says WWL CEO Mike Scott. “Before the managed release, the reservoir had reached its full capacity on the 21st of January, with water flowing down the spillway into the Lee River. “ Final engineering analysis and verification of dam performance followed, and the dam and spillway was then commissioned. The next stage was to remove the temporary pipework and hook up the permanent pipework, testing the pipes and the dispersing valves.” Mike says that with the smaller of three permanent dispersing valves installed, water was able to be released from the reservoir through the valve on Saturday 2 March. Twenty percent of the reservoir’s water was used during March to feed the river and mitigate the impact of the drought. Due to this release, the Tasman District Council did not have to impose further water restrictions in the region that it had been looking at doing. Successful testing of the two larger dispersing valves took place in early April, marking the dam as being fully operational. Tasman growers are reporting that their aquifers are successfully being replenished thanks to the Waimea Dam’s water releases. “It certainly felt very very good this weekend (March 2) when water was released from the dam’s reservoir,” says Murray King from Kingsway Farms.
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