A photograph from September 2020 showing the Lee River flowing through the recently completed diversion culvert at the site of the Waimea dam build in the Lee Valley, near Nelson. A letter leaked to Stuffreveals concerns about delays with the Waimea Community Dam build including fears those hold-ups threaten the 2022-23 irrigation season. Waimea Water remains very concerned at the cost to the contractor, Waimea Water and its stakeholders “should the current delays not be mitigated or worse still, be exacerbated given the contractor’s apparently tight programme durations for some of the structures”. It is the majority shareholder in the dam project, which is a joint venture with Waimea Irrigators Ltd. Waimea Water Ltd/Supplied An early impression of how the completed Waimea dam is expected to look with the spillway on the right.

Source: Stuff January 26, 2021 15:56 UTC