"I was around for the drought of 2001," Smith said.
"I thought that was as bad as it could get.
"It is clear that this is worse."
* Severe water restrictions to bite as drought could cost over $100 million * Nelson bush fire: Blaze battle sucks water from low-flowing Wai-iti River * Council considers ‘draconian’ measures to combat big dry Such a huge cut in water allocations is expected to be devastating for many growers on the plains with yields already down at one large market gardening operation along with a reduction in new plantings and fears for fragile leafy greens that are now just surviving.
Advertise with Stuff There is also concern about the effect of the water cuts on the coming apple harvest.
"This is ramping up to be the most serious drought Nelson has ever had."
"There’s a lot more people living in the region … and more people growing high-value crops that cannot turn the tap off."
However, the reality was "the production system gets ramped up" with irrigation and the "assumption of guaranteed water" but even once the dam was commissioned, the region could still be affected by "really dry periods".
For the Waimea Plains, better resilience might involve looking at new crops or the diversification of crops.
Across New Zealand, basic infrastructure had been taken for granted such as water supply and water quality, O’Connor said.