The Lower Waitaki Irrigation Scheme delivers water from the Waitaki River to more than 200 shareholders covering 25,000 hectares on the Lower Waitaki Plains. It also supplies commercial water to local industries and domestic supply for the township of Oamaru. The Scheme was constructed by the Ministry of Works and began operation in 1974. It was purchased from the Government by the Lower Waitaki Irrigation Company in 1989.
200km
of open canals
38ha
of ponds
200+
Shareholders
LWIC takes up to 19 cumecs (19 ,000 litres per second) of water from the Waitaki River via Bortons Pond at Black Point. Bortons Pond is a man-made pond, constructed by the Ministry of Works in the 1970s as the intake for the Lower Waitaki Irrigation Scheme. The pond is now also shared with the NOIC scheme. The river intake gates allow up to 27 cumecs of water from the Waitaki River into the pond. Of this, 19 cumecs are for LWIC and 8 cumecs are for NOIC. This allocation allows LWIC to deliver approximately 1.4 million m3 per day at peak operation. The pond is now a Wildlife Reserve and is popular with the public for fishing and recreation.
Construction of the LWIC scheme commenced in November 1970, with the first water being supplied to farmers in September 1974, and all work completed by March 1982. The whole scheme originally irrigated 16,000 ha serving 170 farms. The final cost of the scheme was $8.98 million.
Water is delivered to farm offtakes under gravity through a distribution network made up of 200 km of open canals and races and 12.5 km of siphons and pipework. Originally a border dyke scheme, most shareholders have now converted to spray irrigation. A series of gates, weirs and structures control water flows.
The company continues to invest money into upgrading infrastructure, including automated gate control systems and telemetered canal flow monitoring. In 2012 a 5 ha balancing pond was constructed at Ferry Road to assist with flow management. LWIC is heavily focused on water efficiency whilst continuing to deliver a reliable supply of water to shareholders. The company is currently exploring options for scheme upgrades to further improve water use efficiency.
LWIC supplies water for a range of farming operations, including dairy, sheep and beef, cropping, and lifestyle blocks. LWIC also supplies commercial water to businesses including Road Metals, Shingle Supplies and the Pukeuri freezing works. The Waitaki District Council is another important commercial customer, with the water supply for the township of Oamaru and surrounding rural areas sourced from the LWIC scheme.
Water is supplied on a per share basis. A share entitles the shareholder to between 0.4 l/s and 0.55 l/s of irrigation water.
Share ownership is subject to a water supply agreement and registered as an encumbrance on the property title. This agreement outlines responsibilities and compliance requirements.
Water is ordered through an online portal. Water orders must be placed by 7pm for next-day supply.
Water use is not currently metered and is billed quarterly based on shares owned.
Any irrigation system upgrades or conversions require prior approval from LWIC. Shareholders must submit an application and ensure compliance with company rules and regional regulations. Application forms are available below.
The LWIC Rules of Operation outline important information for shareholders and can be downloaded below.
LWIC is governed by a board of directors comprising five farmer shareholders and one independent. The current board is Becky Lamming (Interim Chair), Dave Gordon, Rogan Borrie, Peter Smit, Ben Smith and Dave Hazlehurst (Independant).