Wine heavyweights oppose $42m water scheme (NZ)

Two of Nelson’s leading winemakers are challenging the proposed funding of a planned $42 million water storage scheme for the Waimea Plains. The Waimea Water Augmentation Committee and the Tasman District Council are proposing a compulsory rate to pay for the scheme that backers say will drought-proof the plains outside Richmond. The project has been eight years in the planning, but revelations of the compulsory and standard rate of about $600 a hectare has some opponents fuming, reports Radio NZ News.