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WIL receives $15.6M of government funding for irrigation storage ponds

 

Left – Right: David Croft – AIC Chair, Bjorn Triplow, Opuha Water CEO, Hugh Martyn WIL Chair, Brent Walton WIL CEO, Hon. Mark Patterson, Minister for Rural Communities, Stuart Smith MP for Kaikoura, Matt Doocey MP for Waimakariri, Dan Gordon Mayor of Waimakariri.

Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL) has received $15.6M of funding from the Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) for the construction of its water storage facility near Oxford which will provide a more secure supply of irrigation water for its 170 farmer shareholders.

The funding consists of a $10.8M bridging loan and a $4.8M deferred capital loan which will be provided over a four-year period.

WIL’s Chair Hugh Martyn says the Government funding will provide the boost the 8.2 million cubic metre storage facility requires to begin construction at WIL’s 120-hectare site at Wrights Road early next year. It is estimated that the storage ponds will be operational by the 2028/29 irrigation season.

“We are committed to providing our shareholders with a reliable, secure and sustainable supply of irrigation water which will enable farming in Waimakariri to continue to thrive, while also providing an opportunity for irrigation water to be used during the winter months for environmental initiatives such as MAR (Managed Aquifer Recharge) and TSA (Targeted Stream Augmentation).

Wrights Road Storage Ponds aerial view

Aerial view of Wrights Road Storage Ponds.

“The Wrights Roads Storage Ponds are an intergenerational investment that will benefit future generations of Waimakariri farmers and the wider community.”

The storage ponds will collect water from the Waimakariri River that is not used during the irrigation season in accordance with water availability and river flow restrictions.

Securing a reliable water supply will increase the average reliability of irrigation water for WIL’s shareholders from 75 per cent to 92 per cent and will provide farmers with the ability to address climate-related risks to their farming businesses and to consider alternative land uses in the future.