He decided to build a dam and that was the start of a complex, expensive and often frustrating saga.
To build the dam he needed two consents: a resource consent and a building consent. In one small corner of the flat-bottomed valley that would be flooded, a slip had come down some years ago and blocked a small drain. This caused the water to back up and create what the council considered was a natural wetland.
Many experts agreed there was nothing significant in the wetland but the regional council still argued it was “significant”.
Putting it in perspective, the proposed dam was 13ha in size and 10 metres deep. The wetland, for what it was, occupied less than a hectare. Because the wetland was in the Wellington region, which is apparently short of wetlands so all wetlands were considered significant.
Despite being told he couldn’t proceed, French didn’t give up and found a way through the maze of regulations that the council seemed unaware of.
French then got Federated Farmers involved, who helped him fight the new regulations. The council finally allowed French to offset the wetland by creating additional wetlands elsewhere. He had planned to do that anyway.
If the regional council had looked at the site in the middle of summer they would have been unaware of any wetland. If any old drain can be considered a wetland then all farmers will have major issues.
Another problem was that the local Whareama River was considered to have “special ecological value”. The drain over which the main dam wall would be built was considered a tributary of the Whareama. French was told that the proposed dam would “destroy the ecology” of the old, blocked drain.
The end result was that French had to fence three kilometres of stream and plant 7000 natives.
There was an issue of fish passage and that required expert input from a scientist in Whakatāne who had to fly down and consult, all at the farmer’s expense. The solution was to have novaflow pipes and spat ropes. This was despite the fact that fish couldn’t get into the existing dam due to a natural barrier.
Finally, the modified plan was accepted by council and it went out for public consultation. The locals welcomed it, as did iwi and the district council, but Forest & Bird objected. Surprisingly, they didn’t say what their concerns were.
French invited the local Wairarapa Forest & Bird representatives to view the proposal and they supported it. Head office didn’t and couldn’t even be bothered to visit the site. After several months of repeated approaches they withdrew their objection with no explanation.
I’m pleased they did but the process seemed ridiculous. We live in an area subject to drought and anyone neutralising the effects of drought should be supported.
So come spring, work will start on the dam construction. It is the result of five years of meticulous planning and huge dollops of cash.
The consent process has cost over $350,000 before a sod has been turned, plus an additional $280,000 for non-dam conservation work. The cost of the dam itself will be an extra $1.5 million.
The dam will irrigate between 140-200ha, with the farm continuing to run sheep and cattle. Small seeds and other options will be considered in the future. The farmers are resolute that the dam will enhance the environment and not adversely affect it.
At this stage the French’s are hoping for a return on investment of 5-6%.
There are additional returns for the community.
There will be 3km of public walkway, plus boat ramps and native planting.
The local rugby ground, home of the mighty East Coast rugby team, will receive free irrigation.
What needs to happen from here is a complete change in mindset from the bureaucracy. Farmers need to be encouraged to put dams on their property. It should be an inexpensive and streamlined process to get all the consents and approvals.
Notice also needs to be taken of the local community and the facilities a dam may provide.
Finally, we need more farmers like French, who are prepared to put their time and money where their mouth is and go out to create a dam. We need more farmers with his commitment and a lot more dams.
