Parched Ashburton furious as mysterious business looks to drill

Dirlling for water in Ashburton
Dirlling for water in Ashburton

Ashburton district is running out of water, but the Council is selling the rights to drill it from the ground.

Locals speak of dry wells and water supplies running on empty. Some rural households are spending $20,000 to deepen wells and handle Council paperwork.

Despite the ongoing struggle over water supply, Ashburton District Council looks set to complete a deal with a mysterious business seeking the region's water. The deal will be for something in the vicinity of $8 million in return for 30 years of unlimited access to underground water supplies.

Needless to say, the drought-stricken locals aren't happy.

Concerned resident Jen Branje says it affects too many members of the community.

"It wasn't done in an efficient and appropriate way, and our whole community should be consulted before our water is given away."

But the Council says there's a plan in place that will end up benefiting the community as a whole.

The Council's managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is designed to clean up Canterbury's already polluted underground water system and help solve the water problem.

When you get to the root of it, the whole concept is disappointingly simple. They're just diverting fresh water from the nearby Rangitata River.

The local protesters are not convinced of the plan's benefits. "Every litre of water you take out can't be replenished," says Andrew Gray.

"It can never be replaced, because it's put on a boat and goes overseas. It's gone forever."

Story invited the Council on the show to explain why they are selling off 30 years-worth of water in a drought-stricken region to a secretive company for a one-off payment.

Ashburton's Mayor Angus MacKay originally agreed to do an interview. He was quite happy about it, but said he needed to check with the company first.

Later on, he declined the opportunity for an interview and said the company preferred that he, the Mayor, didn't talk to us.

The company at the centre of the whole deal is unreachable. We don't even know who owns it or funds it, because its ownership is legally hidden from the public eye.

We know they're called NZ Pure Blue, and they have two Kiwi directors, who aren't saying anything.

One of their directors texted us saying that he'd already talked to a local paper and had "no further comment". He told the paper the company will create 100 jobs in the region by paying Kiwirail to move Ashburton's rail yards closer to the site.

They may not have power or money, but members of the public will do whatever they can to stop this.

Tomorrow they'll go to the Ashburton District Council and formally request that the Council abandons the deal.

Watch the video for the full Story report.