Aqua Intel Aotearoa
Aqua Intel Aotearoa provides regions with insights and actions for sustainable water use.
Good information about water availability is necessary for regions to make good decisions about freshwater allocations. Aqua Intel Aotearoa works with regions to identify and develop the information needed to inform good decision making.
Aqua Intel Aotearoa is a partnership between Kānoa (the delivery arm of the Provincial Growth Fund) and GNS Science. It is a national science platform on regional water availability and storage.
Aqua Intel Aotearoa works with scientists, the government, councils, iwi and local stakeholders to improve our understanding of groundwater and surface water in the regions.
Our Work Programme
Aqua Intel Aotearoa was set up in 2020 to enhance regional knowledge about the quantity of water available, particularly in aquifers. This supports regions to determine how much water can be made available through resource consents, and to determine the best means for ensuring reliable, sustainable water supplies.
While quite a lot is known about the quantity of surface water in heavily utilised catchments, less is known about groundwater. Aqua Intel Aotearoa is undertaking projects that increase knowledge about groundwater, and about some less well researched aspects of water availability. This includes Aerial Electromagnetic Mapping (AEM) of aquifer systems, surface water flow information for whenua Māori, harvesting high flows for use in low flow periods, and use of wetlands to store and augment flows.
Aqua Intel Aotearoa is working with councils, tangata whenua and community stakeholders in four regions to enhance their information on water availability: Northland, Gisborne, Southland, and Otago. Our work programme runs from 2020 – 2025.
The map below shows the different areas where AIA work is underway. It also includes AEM activities in Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa, which have been funded through the Provincial Growth Fund. Additional information on these regional projects can be found here:
Hawke’s Bay has completed AEM and hydrogeological interpretation, and is drawing on this information in managing water resources and setting its freshwater allocations. This mapping provides Hawke’s Bay with new information on the characteristics of their aquifers, informing decisions about water allocation.
Figure 1: Location of AIA Projects in Northland, Gisborne, Otago, and Southland.
Figure 2: Example of a resistivity model based on results from the Hawke's Bay AEM.
Programme Highlights
The work programme is at different stages across the regions. Highlights across the programme include:
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Aerial Electromagnetic Mapping
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Flights have been undertaken in Northland, Gisborne and Southland.
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Processing and interpretation of data is now underway and will be completed in 2025.
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Glass Earth data has been re-interpreted for groundwater assessment for a case-study catchment in Otago. A report on water availability findings for this catchment and potential value of the Glass Earth data interpretation has been provided to Otago Regional Council.
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An approach to Harvesting High Flows has been developed in partnership with NIWA and regional councils in Northland and Gisborne. Follow up work is underway to apply the methodology to council allocation models.
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Surface water gauging has been underway for two - three years in Northland and Gisborne (East Coast), to assist landowners understand water availability and to support resource consent applications.
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Groundwater drilling has been undertaken in Gisborne (East Coast) and Northland (South Pouto Peninsula).
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Modelling will be undertaken in Southland in late 2024 to better understand the potential for wetlands to augment water flow and availability.
The image below provides a characterisation of aquifers in three regions, based on high-level AEM results.
Figure 2: Stews icecream schema
In Northland and Gisborne, AIA is working with tangata whenua to manage data sovereignty concerns, by ensuring they are involved in decisions related to requests for the data from interested parties. The key elements of the approach we are developing together are provided in this report (TBC).
Improve our understanding of the Te Hiku aquifer, better understand surface water flows, measure the potential for harvesting high (winter) flows, and groundwater test drilling in Pouto.
GISBORNE
TAIRĀWHITI
Undertake aquifer mapping and groundwater bore drilling to improve our understanding of the aquifers, assess surface water flows, and form a water budget.
SCIENTIFIC APPROACH
We have used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping to get initial indications of the most productive water sources for each region.
Using that information, we are undertaking in-depth assessments of specific water sources in each region, where this is of value to the region’s communities. These include aquifer mapping, surface water monitoring and test drilling.
In addition to the scientific benefits of AEM, the AIA approach provides a constructive process for councils and iwi to work through challenging discussions about historical water consents, data sovereignty and future arrangements to protect water resources.
A FEW DEFINITIONS
Aquifer: the rocks and sediment that form a natural storage place for groundwater to move through.
Groundwater: water underneath the ground, which moves through different types of rocks and sediment.
Groundwater recharge: the process of water moving through the land and soil/rocks into the aquifer (to become groundwater).
Surface water: any body of water above ground (e.g. lake, river, stream).
BENEFITS OF AIA’S WORK
WATERBODIES
Enhanced Water Quality – AIA’s work provides enhanced information to appropriately manage water takes and protect groundwater. This enables more water to be returned to maintained in rivers and other surface waterbodies, facilitating the implementation of Te Mana o Te Wai.
GOVERNMENT
Enhanced Water Management – improves the national understanding of New Zealand’s water availability and interactions between groundwater and surface water.
Sustainable Regional Productivity - supports sustainable land productivity while protecting waterbodies
Climate Change Resilience - informing drinking water and roading resilience, saline intrusion extents, and improving groundwater models for sea level rise impact prediction.
TANGATA WHENUA
National input on water management – informs National Iwi Chairs Forum (NICF) and others in providing input to government to ensure waterbodies are protected.
Iwi as Kaitiaki – provides a basis for iwi to engage with councils as kaitiaki, augmenting mātauranga Māori.
Māori and whenua – supports Māori to undertake whenua development.
REGULATORS
Regional Councils – reducing uncertainty and improving modelling for setting water allocation policies.
District councils – identifies and protects drinking water sources, improved information for long term land planning (GW levels, sea level rise impacts).
Three Waters Authorities – identifies, protects and enhances drinking water sources.
SCIENTISTS
Enhanced substrata research – provides foundational data on which to undertake regional and national research related to aquifers and substrata (lithology), such as:
water availability
geothermal availability for decarbonising energy use in horticulture, housing, and industry
Fault zone mapping to improve hazard assessment
Improved data for groundwater models to test impacts of climate change and sea level rise.
ENVIRONMENTAL BODIES
Environmental Advocates – informs engagement with the government and councils to ensure waterbodies are protected
Environment Court – informs judgements about the impact of resource consents and proposed land use on water
BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY
Reliable drinking water – identifies sources of reliable drinking water for long term and/or emergency supplies.
Productivity – identifies sources of water for land development and industry, and for low carbon energy provision, including low temperature geothermal.
Recreation – enables better groundwater and surface water management to improve surface water quality outcomes including swimmability
NEWS
Gisbore Herald Article: September 10, 2024
Media Release: 20 February, 2024
NIWA REPORT: February 2023
Media Release: 6 December, 2023
Media Release: 2 March, 2023
Media Release: 14 December, 2022
Media Release: 16 November, 2022
Environment Southland: 15 November, 2022
Media Release: September 28, 2022
September 28, 2022
Media Release: 4 April, 2022
Media Release: 10 February, 2022
Media Release: 5 October, 2021
Get in touch with Aqua Intel Aotearoa to learn more about our projects or ask a question.
