The company wanting to set up a water bottling plant in Ashburton is applying to move the town's railway shunting yard closer to its proposed site.
The company, which RNZ News understands is NZ Pure Blue, is negotiating with the Ashburton District Council over purchasing a lot within the town's business park.
The land comes with a valuable consent allowing the owner to extract 45 litres of water a second from the town's aquifers.
The plan has sparked outrage in the community among those worried the town's aquifers will dry up.
The company is in negotiations with KiwiRail about moving the shunting yard, which has pushed the finalisation of the land deal back to the end of September.