New plans to boost flood resilience for local community
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council says a new plan for managing the Wairoa River Bar will improve resilience for the Wairoa community in flood events.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has launched a 3D water mapping project to better understand the region’s freshwater supply.
As part of the project, a helicopter towing airborne electromagnetic survey technology called SkyTEM is flying over the region’s aquifers for the next six weeks.
The technology is able to scan the aquifers down to 300 metres, further than what has been seen before.
The data provided by the survey will enable HBRC to build a 3D digital picture of the aquifers horizontally and to great depths, enabling a better understanding of groundwater resources.
IrrigationNZ has congratulated the HBRC and its partners on the launch: chief executive Elizabeth Soal says the project is a breakthrough.
“We urgently need more facts about what water we have and where,” says Soal.
![]() |
---|
IrrigationNZ chief executive Elizabeth Soal has praised the project. |
“This can inform a sensible water strategy to guide sustainable water management in New Zealand.
“We’re often seeing headlines about shortages in our dry regions which rely on water for their communities, their recreation, and their livelihoods.
“If this initiative by Hawkes Bay Regional Council is successful, we can repeat this elsewhere to get a nationwide water map to understand more about this critical resource. And then we can act on what we know.”
The project is a collaboration between the HBRC, the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) and GNS Science, using Danish SkyTEM technology that has been used extensively overseas.
The total cost for the project is $4.3 million. The PGF is contributing $2.15 million, the HBRC $1.85 million, and GNS Science $300,000.
Like many manufacturers around the world, European agricultural machinery and tractor manufacturers are currently operating in a difficult market environment. But they are heading to the world’s largest agricultural machinery event in Hanover next month with a degree of cautious optimism.
Established in 2021, the John Deere Technician of the Year Awards champion the important contribution parts and service technicians make to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture, construction and forestry industries.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
OPINION: Ageing lefty Chris Trotter reckons that the decision to delay recognition of Palestinian statehood is more than just a fit…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly recently met someone at a BBQ who works at a big consulting firm who spent…