Canterbury’s irrigation water resources

Abstract

With 58% of all water allocated for consumptive use in New Zealand, and 70% of the nation’s irrigated land, Canterbury is already critically dependent on water resource development in the form of irrigation and stock water systems. The future prosperity of the region is inextricably linked to how water is allocated and how this affects agriculture’s water supply reliability. On-going land use change, primarily in the form of irrigation development, continues to increase demand for water abstraction. Water is highly valued by the regional community for a variety of economic, environmental and social reasons. As a result, there is increasing conflict over the allocation of water for abstraction and for maintenance or improvement of in-stream values. Lincoln Environmental recently completed a study for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Environment Canterbury and the Ministry for the Environment on the Canterbury Region’s ability to meet the long-term demand for water. It provides information so that strategic decisions about the future management of Canterbury’s water resources can be made. Some of the key findings are presented here.