Sources and Flows

How can the research be used? Ka pēhea e whai take ai te rangahau?

• The multi-component, modular framework developed by the Sources and Flows programme is a screening tool for quick assessment of water quality at catchment scale. It will allow landowners to pinpoint a location, identify the contaminants of concern, and select appropriate mitigations.
• The mitigation assessments done by Sources and Flows researchers will help assess whether water quality objectives can be achieved in water bodies, or whether land use change might be required in the catchment area.
• This research refined a ‘critical source area’ theory that explains that the majority of contaminants come from a minority of a farm or catchment. When targeted to these small but critical areas, mitigations are 6 to 7 times more cost-effective. This theory is now used in 77 guidelines, industry strategies and policy documents for environmental farm plans to improve water quality.
• Sources and Flows researchers modelled soil drainage at 3 North Island and 3 South Island sites and found 35% to 80% more drainage peaks than expected. This suggests better monitoring of soil moisture and scheduling of irrigation is required. Because of this research the Northland Regional Council is refining drought intensity, duration and frequency curves for Northland to guide regional irrigation schemes and the allocation of water.
• Sources and Flows research used precision irrigation technologies, timed and matched to soil type at a location in Central Otago, to show that the loss of nitrogen and phosphorus in soil drainage was reduced by 70% to 80% compared to standard irrigation practice. Irrigation NZ highlighted this nationally.
• The Sources and Flows team is working with DairyNZ to develop geospatial data layers that capture the transport of N, P and faecal microbes from sources to water bodies. DairyNZ has been providing the research team with key data layer support as well as research questions that need to be answered.
• Researchers in this programme created a map of New Zealand’s potential groundwater recharge zones, where water moves downward from the surface to become groundwater. The map can be used as an initial guide for nationwide assessment and management of groundwater resources, and to identify areas of high nutrient leaching in zones with high groundwater recharge potential.
• The Sources and Flows team has provided lookup tables of N and P losses to support the assessment tool being developed by Land Use Suitability research. This research will also guide the development of catchment modelling tools.