New Zealand: Council in Drought Prone Canterbury Consents to Foreign Company Extracting 40 Billion Litres of Water
April 3rd, 2016Meanwhile, west of Whangarei, Golden Bay and Hastings…
Now that the New Zealand milk bubble has busted: How about water?
Via: Stuff:
A council in the drought-prone Canterbury plains is selling the right to extract 40 billion litres of pure, artesian water to a bottled water supplier.
The Ashburton District Council is selling a section in its business estate, known as Lot 9, for an undisclosed sum. It comes with a valuable resource consent that allows abstraction of water from aquifers beneath the town.
The council has refused to publicise information about the deal, which is understood to be with an overseas company.
It has outraged some residents, who say water is desperately needed locally.
The area’s artesian water is increasingly popular in overseas markets such as China, with its New Zealand origin often featuring in branding and marketing.
The consent allows the holder to take 45 litres of water a second from local aquifers, totalling more than 1.4 billion litres a year.
It expires in 2046, meaning the buyer will gain access to more than 40 billion litres of Ashburton’s pure water.
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Council chief executive Andrew Dalziel would not answer questions about the sale, citing commercial sensitivity. Standing orders prevented councillors from discussing the sale, which is expected to be finalised in June.
It is understood there has been no consultation with ratepayers or other interested parties, such as iwi, about the deal.
