“Above Dam” irrigators  (Nth Opuha, Sth Opuha, upper Opihi and Te Ngawai irrigators)

I expect most of you are aware of the restrictions situation for tomorrow:
North Opuha, South Opuha and Opihi – no restrictions.  I would encourage Sth Opuha to be on as early as possible (midnight would be good!) so we can catch the river while it is up and perhaps avoid the big draw down of the flow if we extend beyond Tuesday midnight with your 24 operation.

Te Ngawai – 50% (swap over?)  Only a small amount of rain Rocky Gully way today so not sure whether the river will hold above 400 by end of the day tomorrow.  

For your info – we are doing some dive inspections at the lake tower tomorrow so won’t be running the power station at all during the day. It doesn’t affect our overall operation (or your irrigation) but just explains the bigger ‘chunk’ we’ve taken from the lake today (see below) to fill up the Reg Pond to get us through the whole day tomorrow.

Regards, Tony McCormick

“Above Dam” irrigators  (Nth Opuha, Sth Opuha, upper Opihi and Te Ngawai irrigators)

It looks like Opihi and North Opuha can stay on tomorrow and Te Ngawai can come on at an ‘ECan 50%’. I am trying to get the Restrictions Page updated as it looks to me like the Te Ngawai has come up above 500 l/s which would lift the 50% restriction but we will have to wait and see that come through later this afternoon/evening.

South Opuha – you’re currently on restrictions for tomorrow but of course the South Opuha will come up plus 200 – 300 l/s when you stop irrigating. It looks like there is going to be a see-saw/yo-yo situation with your irrigation – on one day off the next. It is a question of whether it is going to stay above 500 l/s through to the afternoon.  I can’t tell when you guys started but it looks like some were on around midnight. Can you please ensure you’re off 24 hours after you started, and no later than 9am in the morning.

Just to finish off – it has been great to see the lake level flatten off and actually increase over the last week but I thought the graph below puts it into perspective. The graphs shows lake level since 1^st January. Clearly we have a long way to go yet.

Regards, Tony McCormick

“Above Dam” irrigators  (Nth Opuha, Sth Opuha, upper Opihi and Te Ngawai irrigators)

Everything is set for Opihi, Nth Opuha and Sth Opuha to irrigate for 24 hours tomorrow.
Really pleased to see the lake progress today which should provide a good buffer for the next few days. Thanks to Opuha folk for your patience today as I think it will pay off over the next week.
So 24 hours from your start time but no later than 9am. I expect there is a good chance that this might extend for another 24 hours but we will need to see how your tribs hold up for the ECan Restrictions.
South Opuha is probably the most vulnerable – it is quite likely that you may have a day on – day off – day on regime but at least there will be 24 hours blocks for you to be on. Opihi looks to have had a good top up today so that should hold up even with full irrigation.
All Opihi at Rockwood irrigators can move to ‘100%’ as soon as you like (from now). I have the dam releases at absolute minimum and there is still a bit of surplus.

Encouraging to see Te Ngawai lift today to its highest in 3 weeks but still needs a decent nudge to get you guys on.  My intent is to try and maintain all the conditions required so that, as soon as Te Ngawai gets up, you can be on.  I’ll update same time tomorrow.

Regards, Tony McCormick

“Above Dam” irrigators  (Nth Opuha, Sth Opuha, upper Opihi and Te Ngawai irrigators)

In today’s Restrictions Page issued by ECan the Opihi at Rockwood and North and South Opuhas are all off restriction with regards your tributary flows. The Water Shortage Direction however has a requirement that the lake is at or above 370.5m before you are able to irrigate. We are close to that but under all the same so until we can get a little more into the lake, we aren’t able to irrigate.

The lake has actually held up quite well this week (see below) however we are still releasing more than inflows on a daily basis. The good flow in the Opihi today has enabled us to back off the releases now to 1.6 cumecs to maintain our 2 cumec minimum at Saleyards Bridge so we are trying to capture the benefit of the trib flows albeit on a slightly deferred basis by increasing the lake storage. There are very long lags in the river system under these low flow conditions but we are monitoring all the flows and attempting to anticipate any increased inflows by backing off releases from the dam up to 12 hours ahead of Saleyards Bridge responding.

We are trying to squeeze things as much as possible to try and build that lake reserve both short term (above 370.5m at least to give us enough reserve for a week of river running at our new minimum of 2 cumecs and also enable opportunity irrigation for you) but also long term to firstly try and enable one round of irrigation downstream (current target for that is 374m) and then, obviously, to fill the lake for next season.

I had indicated I would have a general newsletter out earlier this week but I haven’t managed that and this email is intended as an update for your group specifically. I will continue with the newsletter which I plan to complete for tomorrow.

Regards, Tony McCormick

“Above Dam” irrigators (Nth Opuha, Sth Opuha, upper Opihi and Te Ngawai irrigators)

Here’s a quick update on the situation as it now sites (I have just got off the phone from ECan to get them to delay the update of their Restriction for tomorrow to give the tribs time to pick up a bit more hopefully)

The rain has been heaviest in the north of the catchment so the North Opuha is well up, Sth Opuha is starting to respond now and should sneak through 500 l/s by 5pm (ECan’s Restriction had locked in 495!). It doesn’t look like the Opihi and Te Ngawai are going to get above their trigger (today at least).

The slight problem we have is that the flow at Saleyards Bridge (SYB) is still below our agreed minimum of 2.5 cumecs (it is currently 2.2 cumecs) I cannot release anything from the dam to supplement this (and the way the river is behaving it would take 24 hours to affect SYB) I do expect SYB to pick up over the next 10-12 hours since it will be influenced by the slight increase in the Opihi, Te Ngawai and the Opuha itself has also picked up inflows below the dam.

The lake is currently at 370.05m – i.e. only 50mm above the floor where there would be no irrigation. That represents less than one more days operation at our current minimal discharge. The high inflows from the North Opuha at least should assist in bringing that back up to give us a few days more of operating volume.

So for the irrigators above the dam (Nth and Sth Opuha) we have two out of three:
Your tribs – yes
Lake level – yes (but skin of our teeth)
Saleyards Bridge – not yet

As I mentioned in the email last night (below) the Restriction page refers to tomorrow so that starting tomorrow, you can irrigate for 24 hours as long as we get sufficient flow at Saleyards Bridge.

My recommendation is that you need to wait until tomorrow morning when I hope that SYB flow has climbed +300 l/s to 2.5 cumecs and then be prepared to irrigate for 24 hours. The latest 24 hour window is 9am Sat to 9am Sun. Of course if the river flows all remain above their trigger, then there will be another day available Sunday. It looks like there may be some more rain late Saturday so it might be a two bite process depending on how the rivers hold up over the next 36 – 48 hours.

You can monitor the SYB at http://ecan.govt.nz/services/online-services/monitoring/river-flows/Pages/river-flow-chart.aspx?SiteNo=696501 but I will update you from 7am in the morning.

I know you will be desperate to get irrigating but the best option and this all probably seems awfully complicated but I do stress that we have been doing our best to enable you all the opportunity and we have a lot of eyes on us since we have required a number of dispensations for this scenario and the lake and the lower Opihi River have NEVER been as low as they are at present since the dam was commissioned.

I will keep you updated as best I can.

Regards, Tony McCormick

Irrigators, this is intended as an interim update of the current situation with the lake and irrigation restrictions.

The lake is within days of reaching the zero storage position of 370m. We are trying desperately to keep off this level which is, under the river plan, a trigger level whereby we must reduce the releases to match inflows. If we do get to this stage, it is quite clear the river would run dry in the lower reaches.  Last night we reduced the releases back as far as we think we can to maintain the connection in the lower river. Even with this last effort, we are less than a week away from running out. We are investigating the option of lowering the lake below the 370m level but this will require agreement and support of a number of parties including ECan.  The Water Shortage Direction that is currently in place (effective through to 15^th March) has a restriction on all irrigation from affiliated consents.

Looking ahead and “where to from here” with the lake and irrigation opportunities we are trying to determine a regime that will provide an opportunity for at least another ‘round’ of irrigation (I envisage 8-10 days at 50%) before the onset of the late autumn conditions. It is obvious we are going to need a turnaround in weather conditions to do this because under the current conditions there just is not the water to do this.

We are especially conscious of the irrigators who since early January, have been restricted by the minimum flows in their own tributaries (specifically Nth and Sth Opuha, Opihi and Te Ngawai). Under the immediate situation where the lake and river are in such a precarious position we do not believe we can seek dispensation for irrigation if the tributaries were to get up for a short period. This is a possible scenario this weekend. We are however preparing a proposal for discussion on Monday with OEFRAG whereby we can provide some limited relief to these restricted irrigators if certain conditions are able to be achieved. I expect however, that we are going to have to move away from our current lake situation (zero storage and not even able to meet the reduced minimum flow in the river) before that will be possible. We will be looking to enable these restricted irrigators to have some opportunity if their tributaries get up on a short term basis as we build enough reserve to then enable all of the augmented irrigators (including the ‘schemes’) to have the 8-10 day round envisaged.

There does look like there may be some rain through the region at the end of the week/early weekend. Even if the tributaries do rise above their trigger levels we will on this occasion not be able to allow any irrigation at this stage. Hopefully any rain the does eventuate will provide some limited relief directly on the paddocks.

We will continue to try and find a way to provide earliest relief/opportunity to all our irrigators and I will advise you promptly of any favourable change to the operating regime.

Regards, Tony McCormick

Retrieved from http://ecan.govt.nz/news-and-notices/news/pages/environment-can-welcomes-drought-declaration.aspx

Environment Canterbury today welcomed the declaration by the Minister for Primary Industries, Hon Nathan Guy, of a medium-scale adverse event from the “big dry”.

Chief Executive Bill Bayfield said the announcement would give the farmers and their families who need it most access to support, and would also highlight the dry weather challenges for farmers to the wider community.

“Our people in the field are working with and supporting farmers every day,” Mr Bayfield said. “We are seeing historic low flows in some of our rivers and very low groundwater levels as well. 
“However, it is crucial that farmers have access to the water they need for stock and for consented irrigation. Access to water for these purposes is top priority both for farmers and for Canterbury’s economy.”

It is important to note that the ability to irrigate is not unrestricted. Almost every river in Canterbury has a minimum flow level which is in place to protect the environment. Water take consent conditions are written to make sure irrigation water takes stop when a minimum flow is reached.

Some groundwater takes are also subject to river low-flow restrictions because they are directly linked to a nearby river or stream. Bill Bayfield said some farmers are able to continue irrigating because they have groundwater takes that are not directly linked to rivers on restriction due to low flows. “If you see irrigation happening near a low-flow river, for example, that may not be having an impact on its flow,” he said.

Groundwater consent holders also have conditions which include the maximum rate of take as well as a total annual volume that can be used.

Most water take restrictions as a result of low river flows are updated daily by Environment Canterbury scientists and are available at www.ecan.govt.nz – go to Irrigation Restrictions in the Get it Done Online section on the home page. If you have a water take and need further advice or have any questions, please contact Customer Services on 0800 324 636.

“If a farmer’s access to stockwater or irrigation water is subject to resource consent conditions, Environment Canterbury will carefully consider those conditions and the individual’s circumstances with the current situation at the front of our minds. Do contact us if you have any issues,” Bill Bayfield said.

“We will do everything we can to help farmers get appropriate access to water at this particularly difficult time. We definitely don’t want to see livestock suffering needlessly.”

Revenue Minister Todd McClay today welcomed Inland Revenue’s decision to exercise its income equalisation discretion to help provide relief for drought-affected farmers in the eastern South Island. 
Mr McClay’s comment follows the declaration of a medium-scale adverse event by Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy this afternoon.
“The Government recognises that this will be a difficult time for many affected farmers. This assistance from Inland Revenue will give greater flexibility to affected farmers around their tax obligations, and is designed to make the coming months easier for them as they deal with the effects of the drought,” says Mr McClay.

The income equalisation scheme allows farmers to better manage peaks and troughs in their income by allowing money to be put aside from a better year and withdrawn against a not-so-good year.  Inland Revenue has relaxed these rules by allowing late deposits from the 2014 income tax year to be made up to 30 April 2015, regardless of when the 2014 tax return is filed or the due date for filing that return. Early refunds will also be allowed.
“Clearly tax will not be top of mind for affected farmers right now, however I encourage them to talk to their accountants to consider whether this relief may be helpful in their specific situation,” says Mr McClay.

Affected farmers, and in particular dairy farmers, are also likely to be talking to their accountants about their 2014–15 provisional tax calculations.
Inland Revenue is expected to soon publish details of its response for drought-affected farmers at www.ird.govt.nz

OFFICE LOCATION:

875 Arowhenua Road
RD 4
TIMARU 7974
Office: (03) 614 7801
office@opuha.co.nz

Chief Executive Officer:
Tony McCormick – 027 233 0412
tony@opuha.co.nz
Operations & Asset Manager:
Craig Moore – 027 460 9721
craig@opuha.co.nz
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Julia Crossman – 021 535 174
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Aimee Bennett – 021 075 5602
aimee@opuha.co.nz
Financial Manager:
Tracey Hodgett – 
tracey@opuha.co.nz
Office Manager:
Christine Gardner – 021 535 788
christine@opuha.co.nz
Operator Maintainers:
Chris Emmerson – 027 687 6737
chris@opuha.co.nz
Sam Harper – 0274 320 395
sam@opuha.co.nz