A new 30-million cubic metre water storage pond could be on the cards for mid-Canterbury.
The water management company, Rangitata Diversion Race Management, put forward the idea at the Ashburton Water Zone Committee meeting on Tuesday.
Its chief executive Ben Curry said the current drought conditions highlighted how important it was to improve the security of water supply for farmers.
The pond would most likely be filled from water that was already consented from the Rangitata River and be built on farmland already owned by the company.
"About four years ago we bought a farm near our intake on the Rangitata River with the expressed intention of investigating storage, so we've spent the last four years with a number of engineers and other advisers looking at the feasibility of storage," he said.
"We are planning to push forward for a resource consent later on in the year, or possibly into 2016, and really at this stage we're very interested in hearing what the community has to say about our proposal."
Mr Curry said the company was seeking feedback from farmers and the wider community.
