Water Resource Management

Planning water at the system level.

Water resource management is about the whole picture, supply and demand across all users, allocation frameworks, storage options and long term strategy. The connections between surface water and groundwater, between current use and future climate, between local need and national policy. We work with councils, government agencies and irrigation scheme operators on the complex, system-level questions that single-discipline analysis can’t answer.

What we do.

Water resource management sits above individual project or site assessments. It’s about understanding an entire water system, how much is available, who’s using it, what the pressures are, and how to manage it sustainably over time. We bring together surface water, groundwater, climate data and sector demand into an integrated picture that can drive policy, investment and planning decisions.

Supply and demand assessment.

Assessment of water availability and demand at catchment, regional and national scale across all sectors. We identify where shortfalls exist now and where they will develop under future climate and demand scenarios, giving planners the full picture.

Storage feasibility and design.

Assessment of whether water storage is technically feasible and economically justified for a given catchment or supply system. We assess options, design operating rules that balance environmental and water user requirements and work through consenting implications.

Storage scheme investigation.

Feasibility investigations for storage-based irrigation and water supply schemes. We work with landowners, investors, councils and other stakeholders to assess whether a scheme is viable and what it would take to develop it.

Allocation rules and policy.

Advice to regional councils and central government on water allocation rules, plan policies and management frameworks. We provide the technical analysis that underpins allocation decisions and how different scenarios play out under variable climate conditions.

Irrigation water guidelines.

Development of guidelines for irrigation water use, the type of framework regional councils use to set allocation parameters in irrigation-dominated catchments. We have developed guidelines of this type for a number of New Zealand councils.

Long-term supply planning.

Assessment of long-term water supply reliability for municipal and rural users under current and projected future climate variability. We work with water supply planners to identify risks, evaluate options and plan for the future the data shows.

National scale assessment.

Assessment of water availability and security at a national scale. The type of work we’ve undertaken for MPI and MfE to inform national water policy and primary sector planning across New Zealand.

Climate change integration.

Integration of climate projection data into water resource planning. We assess how projected changes in precipitation, temperature and other climate parameters translate into changes in available supply, demand and storage requirements over the long term.

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Who we work with.

Regional councils developing water allocation plans and policy. Central government agencies including MPI and MfE needing national-scale technical analysis. [Irrigation scheme operators] assessing long-term supply security. Local authorities planning municipal water supply infrastructure. This work typically involves multiple stakeholders and we’re experienced in operating across that complexity.

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How we approach it.

Water resource management problems don’t respect disciplinary boundaries. Supply, demand, allocation, storage and climate all interact and the analysis has to reflect that. We go broad and deep, integrating surface water and groundwater, all demand sectors and climate variability into a coherent framework. That integrated picture is what makes the advice useful. It’s the difference between knowing how much water is in the river and knowing whether the region has enough water for the next 50 years.

Our story

Related services

Water Modelling & Hydrology.

Hydrological assessments, catchment modelling, flood and drought analysis. The science that underpins good water management decisions at every scale – from a single farm crossing to a regional catchment.

Groundwater Management.

From aquifer testing and monitoring to complex numerical modelling. We build the complete picture of what's happening below the surface and what it means for users, regulators and the environment.

Resource Consents & Compliance.

Our on-farm water management services cover irrigation performance, effluent and farm water systems.