A new proposal for Falls Dam was now a possibility as no clear preference between the three options had been shown by landowners. Photo: Gregor RichardsonAlmost $1 million of Crown Irrigation Investments funding will allow the Falls Dam proposal to move to the next stage, as a new-look project becomes a possibility. Three options have been investigated for the project: raising the existing Falls Dam by about 6m, or building a new dam, which would be either 12-15m or 20m higher than the existing dam. The proposal could now be for something "in between" raising the existing dam by about 6m and building a new "very low" dam. Crown Irrigation chief executive Murray Gribben said it was expected the project would at least double the size of water storage in Falls Dam, "providing considerable scope to increase the hectares of farmland and orchards under reliable irrigation".

Source: Otago Daily Times August 01, 2017 21:45 UTC