The groundwater resources of the Canterbury plains

Abstract

The N. Z. A. E. I. has a particular responsibility in undertaking research and development in the agricultural engineering aspects of water supply, irrigation and drainage, and into the development of water resources for agriculture on a national basis. Throughout the past decade both the Institute and the Agricultural Engineering Department at Lincoln College have made a series of contributions towards the solution of New Zealand problems in soil and water engineering. These problems are becoming progressively more urgent as the pressures of both agricultural and non-agricultural use on this strictly limited resource intensify. The current state of knowledge regarding the overall water resource has been evaluated by Dr Huber in his report "Water Resource Development for Expanded Irrigated Agriculture on the Canterbury Plains", which was published as Paper No. 11 in the current series. In the latter Dr Huber has identified some thirty specific research needs which together would provide the further information necessary for optimum water resource development. A key part of this programme is the assessment of the potential role of groundwater in future irrigation projects on the Canterbury Plains. The current report, which is based upon analysis of the available data together with field investigations, interpreted in the light of his extensive experience, confirms that groundwater has an important part to play in the future development of the Canterbury Plains. The three aims of this report are: (a) to evaluate the available information on groundwater; (b) to identify unsolved problems of practical importance; (c) to suggest lines of investigation that should be pursued for an efficient "optimal" utilization of groundwater for expanded irrigation in the Canterbury Plains.