Media Advisory

30 October 2015

Waimakariri wells to be surveyed for groundwater snapshot

Around 150 wells on the Waimakariri North and South banks will be visited from early November to February as part of an ongoing programme to understand groundwater flow around the Waimakariri River.

The first stage of the work being undertaken by Environment Canterbury scientists is to identify suitable wells for inclusion in a piezometric[†] survey planned for July 2016.

Landowners will be phoned, visited or written to regarding access to private wells.

Environment Canterbury Groundwater Science Manager Carl Hanson said the piezometric survey will provide more information on the local water resource to inform future planning.

“Our aim is to understand how groundwater moves through Canterbury’s aquifers and the balance between ground and surface water.

“The ongoing investigations will help to inform the Waimakariri sub-regional planning process, which will begin in the zone next year,” he said.

The sub regional process will feed into the Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP) - Environment Canterbury’s planning framework on how land and water are to be managed in the region to deliver community aspirations for water quality in both urban and rural areas.

The Waimakari Zone Committee held a series of community meetings earlier in the year to ensure the community were involved in the process as early as possible and further meetings are planned.

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[†]A piezometric survey is a survey of groundwater levels across an area at a single given point in time

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