POUTO
DRILLING

Aqua Intel Aotearoa is working with Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust and Northland Regional Council (NRC) to increase the level of understanding of the Poutō groundwater resource. This information will help us make better decisions about how we protect and use our land and water, to improve the wellbeing of our wai, our whenua, and our whanau. The project is funded through Aqua Intel Aotearoa (AIA) with co-funding from GNS Science and NRC. 

​

Aqua Intel Aotearoa (AIA) is a collaboration between Kānoa (the delivery arm of the Provincial Growth Fund) and GNS Science. The primary aim of AIA is to deliver projects to improve our understanding of regional water resources. AIA is engaging with the Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust and NRC to determine the locations where monitoring would be beneficial for, and supported by, Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust. NRC aim to improve understanding of the groundwater resource in this area, particularly the potential interaction between groundwater in Poutō and Ruawai.

​

Project aims

AIA aims to increase knowledge of water availability and groundwater flows in the southern part of the Poutō peninsula. This work will support Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust to understand the groundwater in Poutō, so that they can consider whether groundwater abstraction is an option. Te Uri o Hau Settlement Trust aims to enhance its knowledge about water in the study area, including potential sources of drinking water and water to bring their whenua into production in an environmentally sustainable way. Better data on water levels will inform whether there is scope to use water for these purposes without undermining the health of waterways, including dune lakes, wetlands and springs. Further, this work will provide additional information that could inform long-term planning and sustainable groundwater allocation.

​

Site selection

Scientists have broadly identified where there are gaps in the borelog information. The next step will be to identify specific drilling/testing sites to fill the gaps and support better understanding of the underlying geology. Primary aspects that will be considered for selection drilling sites include: ​

- Geology

- Distance to existing bores

- Distance to surface water bodies

- Access

- Ground elevation. 

​

Project outputs

- Data inventory of existing groundwater information available in the area.

- Detailed geological logs and aquifer characteristics for newly drilled bores.

- Monitoring of groundwater (monitoring can be continued beyond the AIA investment).

- Development of a conceptual model, including how groundwater interacts with surface water in the study area.

- Reporting of the work undertaken and what it tells us about water in the study areas.

- Case study for data governance and management of outputs from this project. 

​

How to find out more

• Email us: info@aquaintel.co.nz

• Read our Factsheet