IrrigationNZ News Spring 2022

Keri Johnston Chair of IrrigationNZ

The importance of social licence to the upcoming irrigation season

It’s hard to believe that we are only three months out from Christmas. The year has flown by, and it has not been without its challenges. The volume and pace of regulatory change continues to test us. Our small IrrigationNZ team does a superb job of representing the irrigation sector on the issues and opportunities that matter. Given the sheer number of regulatory items on the agenda, this is no small feat. Thank you for your mahi, dedication, and passion.

It is also with immense pride that I see our organisation in good heart. With water the next substantial item on the Food and Fibre Leaders agenda, IrrigationNZ will have a leading role, thus cementing our place as the experts in this area.

As summer and the irrigation season is upon us, it is timely to be thinking about whether you are ready for it. Having social licence to operate now and into the future is hugely important. Strong social licence helps give us control of the narrative and enables us to operate in a flexible manner because it is known we can be trusted to act in the best interest of everyone. Because social licence is solely measured on trust, when I ask you if you are really ready for it, I am asking if your irrigation system up to date in terms of maintenance, all key personnel are trained in its operation, your decision-making support tools such as soil moisture monitoring are calibrated, and you know that the trigger points are accurate. We talk about the right

tree in the right place, and the same can be said for irrigation – the right amount in the right place at the right time. Water is vital in terms of climate change adaptation and resilience, our environment, and our economy, and therefore, we need to do all that we can, and act in a way that does not undermine irrigation and its place in the future of Aotearoa.

As we head into the AGM for 2022, we farewell Randal Hanrahan from the board. Randal, I thank you for your time and energy. Your practical, reasoned voice will be missed around the table, and I wish you all the best for what lies ahead.

I hope you all enjoy the latest issue of the magazine.

Vanessa Winning Chief Executive IrrigationNZ

Irrigation, advocacy, climate, and the season ahead

We are about to go into another irrigation season, and are getting prepared for summer, which is just around the corner. We need to think about setting ourselves up for another good season, and managing the things we can control. While we can’t control the weather, and we’ve seen over the past few years it doesn’t seem to follow the same patterns that we are used to, we can control how we get ready for it. Checking our equipment, building resilience in our water storage, and preparing for the most efficient resource use are just some of the ways we can prepare.

Irrigation gives us choices. It builds resilience in our system both to help mother nature and to support our business decisions. Having irrigation makes us more efficient and it also helps us improve our environmental outcomes; precision application for the plants at the right points in their growing cycle ensures that nutrients are absorbed and soils regenerated.

We can be better at telling this story and changing the conversations around water capture, storage, and use. There are a lot of myths and mistruths, and unfortunately, they can lead to decision-making in central and local governments not being aligned with best practices. As irrigators, we can demonstrate how important water application is for the health of our plants and soils, and the opportunities that continued development in storage projects provide.

We get plenty of water in this country; sometimes too much. But we don’t have enough investment in storage solutions to provide resilience where we need it. Significant investment is needed, that couples with urban and community goals to provide

There are a lot of myths and mistruths, and unfortunately, they can lead to decision-making in central and local governments not being aligned with best practices. As irrigators, we can demonstrate how important water application is for the health of our plants and soils, and the opportunities that continued development in storage projects provide.

water for mixed-use. This investment can only happen if there is certainty around its return on investment. To provide certainty we need consent processes that have longevity, and signals from successive governments and across parties that use and application will continue. Right now we are in flux; we have good signals that there is an acknowledgment of need for water, but we have limitations around local permitted and consented applications that are causing confusion and angst. We need central and local/regional government agencies and practices to be aligned and to signal that long-term use is acceptable and encouraged. Farmers and growers, along with funders and providers, will work together to provide long-term storage solutions if they can see long-term investment payback. This benefits the whole community.

Our role is to advocate for the workable application of policy, to encourage sustainable investment pathways, and to encourage a strategic approach to water storage and capture projects. Your role as irrigators is to apply your water as efficiently as you can, to continuously improve your practices,

and to demonstrate how well you manage your farms and your outputs. Together we will change those myths and demonstrate that New Zealand farmers are the best in the world, that we are looking for the best outcomes, and that continued investment in our farming and growing sectors will provide the returns needed while improving the outcomes for our land and water.

So get prepared for another season, ensure your systems are working correctly, and talk up your successes. You can control your application and farming system and how you articulate your story, even though you may not always be able to control the interpretation. If there are enough of us working together to demonstrate how precision irrigation for our plants leads to positive outcomes, we will drown out the myths and mistruths.

IrrigationNZ: Out & About

Training

In August IrrigationNZ ran another successful Certificate in Irrigation System Performance Assessment course in the Bay of Plenty. This was the fourth performance assessment course IrrigationNZ has delivered this year, and the sixth in total that has been run while students have been able to take advantage of fees-free funding.

Inaugural Cert III course begins

IrrigationNZ is committed to continu ing to help upskill those working in the irrigation industry. Over the last year we have trained over 80 people for formal qualifications. Another 10 people were recently added to that number with the beginning of the Certificate lll in Irrigation Technology course.

Due to an agreement made between Irrigation New Zealand and Irrigation Australia, the Certificate III in Irrigation Technology course which is currently registered in Australia is now being taught in New Zealand for the first time. See more on page 25.

Accreditation Workshop held in Ashburton

In September we had over 40 people from the irrigation industry attend our accreditation workshop in Ashburton. This was a great opportunity to explore the status and value of current and future accreditation programmes with a particular focus on the irrigation sector. This workshop made progress on reconfirming the role, merits, and applicability that accreditation has within the wider context of freshwater management and Te Mana o te Wai in New Zealand.

The IrrigationNZ Annual General Meeting and Awards Evening is scheduled for Wednesday 26 October 2022, held in Wellington. More details can be found on page 31 or visit www.irrigationnz.co.nz/EventsAndTraining/AGM to RSVP.

Beware the spring equinox

Rural insurer FMG, the rural risk experts, are warning irrigator owners to be prepared for spring winds. Last year’s costly Canter bury spring windstorm brought with it $3.5 million in settled irrigator claims, and weeks of valuable production time lost. However, MetService said La Niña conditions could mean a less extreme spring.

MetService Meteorologist Jake Cope said as the spring equinox approaches that usually means windy weather is on the way for Aotearoa New Zealand.

“The seasons are driven by the tilt of the Earth on its axis, and the relative position of the Sun this creates at different times of the year. The spring equinox is when the Sun’s relative position is directly above the equator and heading south. This year this occurred at 1:03pm on Friday 23 September. As the tropical rains march southwards, so do the subtropical high pressures, and the subpolar low, along with the westerlies that sit between them. The increased temperature gradient across these westerlies tends to make them stronger across our shores in spring.”

Jake expects plenty of this usual spring like weather this year, and some potentially damaging westerly wind events, but there’s a spanner in the works in the tropics. “La Niña conditions have developed in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, which tends to bring higher

than normal pressure east and southeast of New Zealand. This disrupts the normal procession of spring westerlies. While it means these westerly windstorms are likely to be less frequent than usual, we are still likely to get some classic spring westerlies. This can create its own wind-based problems, making stronger northeast winds more likely than usual. Given the increased variation expected this spring, it’s important to stay up to date with the forecasts, and Severe Weather Watches and Warnings from MetService.”

FMG said it’s worth being prepared as potential issues with supply chains could put the brakes on your business should your irrigator get damaged. Philip Grose is an FMG assessor in Canterbury, which bore the brunt of last year’s windstorm. He said parts could be hard to source.

“The problem with irrigator parts is the length and the weight of them. They can only come by boat, so companies must hedge their bets. So there’s only limited stock.”

Phil said the weather event in July has also put a real strain on parts. “So, if we get another 100 irrigators down with these equinox winds, we’re going to be in for a bit of trouble, I think, and there could be a few irrigators lying on paddocks for the summer.”

He said that is where the big impacts come. “It’s like any business. If you take a

critical part out you’ve either got to find workarounds or you can’t operate, and that means stress and difficult times.”

This is where the importance of planning comes in, said FMG’s Manager of Advice Services, Angela Hogg. “It is important that all staff understand what the agreed farm plan is if strong winds are on the way. This could include the method of ‘Point, Park, and Anchor.’ Everyone should understand their responsibilities and the process. This should include what happens after the winds have passed and a plan for getting back to irrigating,” said Angela.

“Damage to irrigators remains the top loss cause in our claims, accounting for 34 percent of claims. Over half of all wind damage claims occur in spring and there’s real benefit to be gained from implementing the ‘Point, Park and Anchor’ advice. Plan and be prepared.”

For weather forecasts, Severe Weather Watches and Warnings head to www.metservice.com or view the seasonal outlook on page 40.

Head to www.fmg.co.nz/advice/ irrigators for more information, including access to the free Irrigator Advice guide to help protect your irrigators.

Eitan Dan NZ Managing Director for CropX, based in Israel

From the desert to a green and pleasant land

My professional life has included much to do with “big data”, statistics, and metrics. On a personal level, I grew up with a deep appreciation of water’s true value and cost in one of the most water-challenged countries in the world.

So, it is an almost natural fit for me to find myself working for CropX. What is more ironic for me however, and something that has taken a bit of getting used to over the past two years, is coming to a country where one afternoon’s rainfall in almost any part of New Zealand can be greater than Israel’s entire annual rainfall!

Growing up in Israel and living in Jerusalem where the annual rainfall is about 95mm, I have some intense memories of water, and how as children we were constantly reminded to turn the tap off and save as much as we could.

One of those enduring memories relates to the special aerators (in Hebrew called Hasham, meaning “smart-saver”) installed in taps that enabled air to be mixed in with the flow, effectively reducing how much actual water came out. It created a bubbly stream, like sparkling carbonated water that holds a magic for many small children.

They are also a simple but highly effective means of saving 11–18 percent in domestic water use, and one of many small but significant innovations everyday Israelis have built into their home water systems to minimise use.

For me, those aerators would mean that as a child I would stand waiting for the bubbles to dissipate in the glass before I would take a drink, and to this day I still pause for a moment to let the glass settle before taking a sip; a habit formed over a lifetime.

Aerator – how it looks before and after installed in a tap.

Every drop counts in Israel because water is hard won, and it is expensive.

Over the past 20 years Israel constructed a network of desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast, using reverse osmosis of seawater, and producing their own power. Israel also produces 85 percent of Jordan’s drinkable water.

In addition, Israel taps into the West Bank aquifers and the river Jordan, which flows into the Sea of Galilee. However, desalination now accounts for about 90 percent of Israel’s water supply.

Inevitably, as with many things in our part of the world, the politics of water are complex and fraught. Twenty years ago, Israel called off four year negotiations with Turkey to supply one billion cumecs of water over five years.

Years on, it has proven to have been a fortuitous breakdown in relations. It compelled Israel to solve an enduring existential problem for its population. It imbued a deep appreciation within that population about water’s value, how to conserve it where possible, and recycle where practicable.

Israeli households are allocated an allowance for their annual water use, and to

step over that incurs significant extra costs. As things stand, in Israel your metered water bill is usually your second largest utility after electricity.

Increasingly, smart meters are being rolled out through the country that can collect and analyse data, and diagnose water use, even alerting your household should an unusual level of use occur, possibly caused by an undetected leak.

Today Israel’s water supply recycles 90 percent of its wastewater, and the country is a world leader in water recycling, well ahead of the next closest country for recycling which is Spain at 17 percent.

The technology Israel has developed has enabled it to turn almost uninhabitable areas like the Negev Desert, which covers over 60 percent of the country, into oases of productive agriculture.

The conversion of the desert was made possible from the 1960s, thanks to Israeli company Netafim’s invention of the drip irrigation technology. Cherry tomatoes were the pioneer crop in an area that today boasts fish farms, olive groves, and plantations of fruit and vegetables of many varieties.

Current world rice production is also poised to be revolutionised by Netafim’s latest development - a drip-feeding system for rice crops. This technology will remove the wasteful exercise of flooding paddies.

Israel has continued to be a hub for agritechnology, including CropX, where we work to bring the benefits of digital agronomic farm management to farms around the world.

Our platform incorporates real-time soil data to provide precise irrigation guidance. We also have world-class technology in effluent irrigation management that was

developed right here in New Zealand. Joining CropX has been my first opportunity to work in agriculture.

After 17 years in the Israeli Army, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, followed by experience in data, software, and IoT, the move to CropX does not seem such an odd one for someone like myself with minimal agricultural experience.

I found my experience with IoT hardware, and a familiarity with AI systems and data collection, made the move to a rapidly advancing agritech firm specialising in water management a relatively seamless one.

CropX’s use of IoT remote sensors, mass data collection, and use of AI to learn about watering patterns, rainfall, and soil moisture has proven a good match to my skills.

Coming to New Zealand as Managing Director for CropX almost two years ago saw me move from one of the driest parts of the world to one of the wetter ones. This winter has really reinforced just how different the two countries are in terms of water scarcity.

My impression of New Zealand’s water management is that despite the abundance often enjoyed, farmers and growers here are well advanced in how to manage it carefully, with a good network of organisations and skills sitting behind this country’s irrigation programmes.

I am often surprised at the level of advancement here in New Zealand, even compared to countries like the USA where water supply is often far more limited, but wasteful flood irrigation systems are still in use.

Practices in New Zealand like doing a bucket test on irrigation systems every two to three years to calibrate centre pivot irrigators are great to see. Even though water here is technically free, people are trying to collaborate with authorities’ standards, and behaving responsibly in how they use it.

I have also been struck by the work done by growers, farmers, and advisors to better understand the links between water use and yield outcomes.

This starts with looking at the likes of maize and grass production over certain irrigation regimes, but also extends to looking at the impact of irrigation on kiwifruit size and crop yields.

The understanding of how precision agriculture can help deliver better quality and quantities for cropping is advanced and well entrenched with our potential clients before Capsicum farm utilising drip irrigation in Paran, Southern Israel.

we even begin talking about what CropX technology could deliver for them.

There is also a great appetite in New Zealand among the primary sector to improve water quality standards, and better avoid contamination of waterways through run-off and over-fertilisation.

I am very impressed by the will to innovate and use technology in the water sector. As a mentor at Sprout Agritech innovation accelerator, I meet smart and enthusiastic young Kiwis looking at how to hoist the technology using satellite imagery, IoT sensors, and other new science and technology to keep New Zealand water pure.

The opportunities are there for more tools to be offered to farmers and growers to gain better real-time understanding of the critical levels of nutrients and runoff contaminants, particularly nitrogen, as regulations around its use tighten.

New Zealand’s ability to pick up on this technology is good, thanks to the last piece of the technology jigsaw to be largely completed in recent years, namely rural internet connectivity.

All modern technology relies upon being online, and New Zealand’s rural sector is now extremely well served, even by international standards, in terms of internet speeds. This is often achieved through rural fibre networks and increasingly through the 5G rollout.

This is one aspect of the country’s infrastructure I believe New Zealanders should be extremely proud of, and something that sets up the primary sector to be capable of further major technological advances in the very near future.

Technology for efficient irrigation management

CLOUD

Senninger i-Wob

Sprinkler

Arad

Flow Meters

www.watersupply.co.nz

Nigel Barbour Group Chief Executive Orion (Central Canterbury electricity distributor)

The way we use electricity is about to radically change

We are seeing the effects of climate change here and around the world. In response, there is a global shift towards replacing coal, petrochemicals, and eventually natural gas, with electricity. Orion is looking at how this will change how we all consume and generate electricity and the role of network companies like us in supporting that.

Orion is committed to helping our rural sector decarbonise and continue to run their businesses more efficiently and cleanly as these changes happen.

Agriculture is a cornerstone industry in Canterbury. People working on the land are a substantial part of the region’s economy and need a reliable energy supply for irrigation, operating cow sheds, and keeping businesses and households in rural support towns running.

Orion can help our irrigation customers with ways to operate more efficiently and effectively. We see our highest rural network demand at the height of the irrigation season.

Many Selwyn irrigation operators will have signed up for Orion’s Irrigation Interruptibil ity Scheme. It works like ripple control on hot water cylinders, and we use it on rare occasions when there is a significant outage in rural areas. The last time it was implemented was in 2014, when it provided emergency power following a major issue with a 33-kilovolt cable at our Rolleston substation.

It’s a last resort option, but if needed in summer, the scheme gives us an estimated additional 18MW of power to keep essential local services running, such as medical facilities, aged care homes, and cowsheds.

Schemes like this can only operate with the support of the farmers who subscribe to them, and Orion compensates these customers when

we need them. There are about 570 irrigators on the scheme – about half of the irrigation connections on our network.

The scheme helps us to not over-build the network; therefore, our customers do not have to pay for a bigger network than necessary.

We are talking to some farmers about on-farm solar to match their irrigation load. It makes absolute sense, particularly if you can match the solar output to your electricity peak use. The seasonal correlation between irrigation and solar generation could be excellent, depending on the time-of-day irrigators are operating.

Using solar for irrigation could also help keep the power on for the community. Many of these connections are on long rural feeders. Reducing the loads through those lower voltage lines also supports the network.

Orion is seeing big increases in residential and industrial electricity demand in the Selwyn District. At Norwood, we have begun work on a new Grid Exit Point to feed electricity from the national grid into the local network. Once it is completed next year, it will increase our capacity to draw down power into our network by 200MW, or 25 percent. It is also capable of uploading power to the national grid. So, this investment will support Selwyn’s population growth, industrial electrification, and future solar generation developments.

Some grid-scale solar projects around New Zealand are being developed on farmland where sheep can graze around the arrays – potentially a win-win arrangement.

Orion is talking with several grid-scale solar developers. If their projects go ahead, we could have 600 megawatts of additional generation on our network. If that happens,

you could see Orion’s entire customer base supplied locally on a sunny day.

It is up to the developers to make these investment decisions. But I’m confident at least one will go ahead, providing more energy for industrial electrification and increasing reliability in rural parts of the network, especially during the critical irrigation season.

Power outages are sometimes necessary for planned work, and customers tell us knowing when they are happening means they can plan around them. We’re about to launch an outage notification service to keep people in the loop about planned outages in their area, either by text or email. It lets you know when the outage will happen, and if the job takes less time, we can let you know the electricity will be back on sooner. Signing up for this service online will only take a couple of minutes, and in the future we will include unplanned outage updates to give people more accurate information.

Climate adaptation and resilience are crucial for Orion. The modelling we have suggests our top wind speeds won’t significantly increase any time soon, but the region will increasingly experience more periods of strong wind.

Our network is well-built for these conditions. But we can’t stop trees from falling over, and we can’t stop wind-borne debris. Everyone has a part to play in dealing with fall zone issues, trampolines, and sheds that can get tossed into power lines.

Orion’s biggest cause of outages is trees, by a mile. In rural areas, trees such as those big, old macrocarpas cause most of all outages. When there’s heavy wind, then a lot of rain and more wind, roots become unsettled. As

water tables rise, they sometimes just fall over, wiping out large sections of power lines.

It can take hours to chainsaw through those trees before we can even get to the lines. It’s often a cold and challenging job, and leaves customers in the area without power when they need it the most.

This is where landowners can help us, their neighbours, and themselves by trimming trees near power lines. Our plea is for landowners to look at which trees could fall into power lines and remove them before they fall.

Orion constantly monitors our customers’ needs to decide what we build and when. We have been working with energy and sustainability consultants and a number of our large customers to determine how they plan to decarbonise their plants in the coming years.

Local dairy processor, Synlait, has begun the change by installing a new electrode boiler. A single dairy processor can add megawatts of load onto our network daily. That could be up to ten percent of Orion’s current mid-winter peak load every day of the year.

To help us plan, we need to know what they might convert to – are they going to electricity, biomass, or another option? Some will make their transition in stages and end up with a final process once they have done intermediary work.

Orion recognises that one size will not fit all. With complicated industries, we must work with what works for them. They may be running complex processing systems, such as milk powder dryers. Even minor interruptions can be annoying, difficult, or costly.

Many of our rural customers also have backup generators. Orion has been work

We are talking to some farmers about on-farm solar to match their irrigation load. It makes absolute sense, particularly if you can match the solar output to your electricity peak use. The seasonal correlation between irrigation and solar generation could be excellent, depending on the time-of-day irrigators are operating.

ing to decarbonise our network backup generation, using biofuel, or blending it with diesel. We have learned a lot and are keen to share our findings more widely if there is interest.

Globally, there is an uptick in investment to develop electric alternatives to diesel farm machinery. It will be interesting in about ten years to start seeing farm diesel converting to other energy forms.

On a large 600 plus dairy farm running a system five production regime, the diesel used in tractors and other equipment can be the equivalent of 4MW hours per day. The average household uses 8MWh per year, so farms will become significant electricity users.

Currently, batteries are expensive and don’t have the capacity to run heavy machinery for long periods. John Deere developed the GridCON electric tractor in 2019 with a one-kilometre-long power cable connecting it to either the grid or on-farm energy delivered via a Smart Grid network. This is an autonomous, wireless, remote-control tractor that can run up and down paddocks all day.

Last year John Deere showed its commitment to battery technology when it acquired a majority stake in Kreisel Electric.

Kreisel manufactures high-density, highdurability electric batteries for industrial equipment and heavy transport.

Some companies are trialling ammonia, which is similar to hydrogen fuel cells but easier to store and convert to existing machinery.

It will be fascinating to see whether tractors end up on electricity, hydrogen, or ammonia. We are keeping watch on these technologies and more. That way, we will be ready to support our rural sector’s transition to cleaner, more efficient fuels and energy.

INTERESTING LINKS:

Tractors running on ammonia: arstechnica.com/cars/2022/06/worldsfirst-ammonia-powered-zero-emissionstractor-starts-testing

Grid connected tractor: www.futurefarming.com/tech-in-focus/ john-deere-releases-video-of-gridconelectric-tractor

Malcolm Welsh

MPI Senior Regional Advisor Māori Agribusiness

Freshwater management through a series of lenses

It all started for me growing up as a child in the late 60s and 70s in Pouto on the North head of the Kaipara harbour, in a dairy farming whanau until the age of 16.

With none of today’s gadgets or accessibil ity of transport, my world was basically as far as I could walk. It was nothing to leave home in the morning and not return until night or when you got hungry, usually whichever came first. These endless excursions further embed ded the whenua and Taiao into my DNA.

Having experienced that childhood dairy farming life and the chores that came with it, I vowed to never be involved with dairying again. Fast forward about 12 years or so, after stints in forestry, shearing sheds, and construction I found myself back in the dairy industry for what turned out to be 20 years. I started at entry-level and progressed through into management, and eventually farm ownership.

A key point in that journey was securing the manager’s role at the Northland Agricul tural Research Farm, where for me farming changed from a job to a career. Having extensive exposure to science, consultants, and research and development endowed me with a lot of learning, knowledge, and networks; all well-operating in a commercial farm environment.

Achieving consistent results in the top 10 percent and participating in the Dairy Industry Awards with success were exciting and motivating experiences, all playing a large part in successful farm ownership.

Through my dairying years, I experienced increasing pressures and regulations on water quality, particularly around effluent, and rightly so. These pressures usually required reasonable amounts of capital to manage and implement appropriate measures.

The supply side of the water was never a real issue for me. Although I thought about it, it was never in the front of my mind as I never experienced a supply issue regarding the source. Supply issues I experienced were usually with distribution, increasing herd numbers, troughs too small, pipes not big enough, etc, all of which were critical parts of water use in my setting

Rolling forward I eventually exited the industry in 2014.

ROLES

After spending a little time finding my next “thing”, doing some odd jobs, and a bit of business study, I landed in WSP, a large global engineering consultancy firm, formerly Opus International.

This role was something new for me, transitioning from 30-odd years in gumboots and steel-caps to a corporate office. Operating squarely in the whenua Māori space, working with landowners investigating best land use/ feasibility, I was exposed to a number of technical experts, planners, soil scientists, hydrologists, water scientists, and horticulture consultants, etc.

It quickly became a recurring and unsurprising finding that water was a critical enabler of high-value land use, which was often the outcome being sought.

In amongst these roles, I have held several trusteeships and directorships for Māori organisations. This has enabled me to maintain a strong line of sight across numerous primary industry sectors from a governance level.

WHY DO I DO WHAT I DO?

Over the last decade or so I have developed a strong drive to support Māori development.

This was probably born initially off the back of my upbringing, and more recently strengthened by the huge potential and many opportunities in front of Māori. This drive, as you would expect, coincided with my governance and director roles which created more direct involvement and influence for me.

I have long had an attraction to govern ance, strategy, and the big picture, and view them as critical components to setting the Kaupapa of organisations and enabling the appropriate environments for delivery. Many whenua opportunities in the primary industry space require water as a key enabler of high value land use.

I would describe part of my skill set as connecting various projects, appropriate organisations, and people. Enabling these connections is hugely beneficial, and if properly executed the value added and opportunities for efficiencies are large.

What also drives me is the multi-level perspectives I have of the primary industries, developed through operational, executive, and governance roles. I have experienced and approached all these levels from many different avenues, be it as a consultant, a recipient of consultancy services, a public servant, farm owner, or labourer.

CHALLENGES

A lot of the work I am involved with is in the investigative stage around water availability, access, and distribution to high-value land use. There is a reasonable amount of resource/ investment required to explore this, with no guarantees during these early stages, and still some uncertainty at resource consent application stages, if it gets that far.

The changing and evolving regulatory

considerations and the environmental pressures are yet to be felt, and are a little unknown, to a degree.

In investigative projects I have been involved with we have been challenged with the hydrology data available. Data sets across Te Taitokerau are a little sparse, with some significant geographical gaps. Synthesising available data to create starting models, and then capturing and comparing actual data threw out unacceptable variances when considering planning off these models.

CURRENT WORK

My current role is with the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) as a senior advisor for Māori agribusiness and Te Tai Tokerau. I am still working with whenua Māori, albeit from another side of the table.

In this role, I am primarily involved with the development of whenua Māori, from exploring feasibility through to potential investment-ready phases. This assistance is

often delivered through external technical experts and often covers all the relevant environmental, physical, regulatory, financial, and people considerations.

My largest piece of work now is with the Tupuānuku cluster program. Tupuānuku Te Tai Tokerau GoHort is a collaboration of whanau, hapū, and iwi landowners which are investigating potential development opportunities in the horticulture sector.

The group came together in March 2020 (Phase 1), with the support of the MPI Māori Agribusiness Extension (MABx) programme, to identify common areas of potential development that could be progressed collectively. There are four work streams in this programme which are viewed as enablers in the horticulture space.

Water is one of those work streams. It involves detailed investigations of water source, access, and distribution. It is a reason ably gated approach in order to maintain viability and appropriate decision-making.

If the investigations progress through all gateways entities will reach the resource consent lodgement stage.

The three other work streams in this programme centre around workforce capabil ity and development, land use options and feasibility, and finance and investment. Each of these fields enable developments in their own right.

In my opinion, huge investment into water capture/storage and distribution is required to futureproof a lot of industries, and enable and support sustainable rural and urban growth. There must also be environmentally sound solutions developed opportunities, to somewhat manage unpredictable weather events.

Although many parts of Aotearoa are still prone to winter flooding and summer droughts, I acknowledge that systems and crops are adapting to our changing environment.

Irrigation Leader Colorado -Nebraska Irrigation Tour 2023

Itinerary

Sunday, September 10

Arrive in Denver, Colorado

Monday, September 11

Tour of Agri-Inject and the Irrigation Research Foundation, Yuma, CO

Tuesday, September 12

Upper Republican Natural Resources District, Imperial, NE and Besler Industries, Frenchman Cambridge Irrigation District, Cambridge, NE

Wednesday, Septeamber 13

Central Platte Natural Resources District, Grand Island, NE

Wednesday, September 13

Reinke Manufacturing, Deshler, NE

Thursday, September 14

Husker Harvest Days Irrigated Working Farm Show, Grand Island, NE

Friday, September 15

Central Platte Natural Resources District, Grand Island, NE

Water for Food Institute, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE

Friday, September 15

Arrival, Omaha, NE, Final Destination

Consultation simplifies rules for drinking water suppliers

After hearing from rural water suppliers and other members of the public, the water services regulator for Aotearoa New Zealand, Taumata Arowai, has made significant changes to make it easier and more cost effective to comply with the Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules.

New Zealand’s national drinking water regulator is reaching out to people that own, operate, or manage unregistered drinking water supplies. This applies mostly in rural areas, to ensure all drinking water in this country is safe, and to assure suppliers that they have time to understand and comply with new requirements.

For anyone living rurally in Aotearoa, chances are their drinking water will not come from a registered supply, said Taumata Arowai Chief Executive Bill Bayfield.

There are estimated to be approximately 75,000 unregistered drinking water supplies in New Zealand that have previously not been included in the regulation of drinking water.

But change is on the way with Taumata Arowai working with people who operate these supplies to ensure all drinking water in Aotearoa is safe.

“While more than 80 percent of the population get its drinking water from local councils there are thousands of smaller supplies on the likes of farms, papakāinga, rural schools, baches/cribs, and campsites.

“Basically, if you are supplying drinking water to anyone other than your own household you are a water supplier and need to make sure the water is safe to drink.”

Bill said while no one would argue against the need to ensure all drinking water is safe to drink, Taumata Arowai is aware of concern in rural communities about the impact of new requirements.

Unregistered drinking water supplies have until 2025 to become registered, with up to three years after that for suppliers to fully comply with the Water Services Act 2021 (the Act). In the interim, however, suppliers will need to supply safe drinking water and do their best to comply with current Drinking Water Standards. Bill said Taumata Arowai wants to take the stress out of that process.

Taumata Arowai

Chief Executive Bill Bayfield with Pakanae (Northland), Water Supplier.

“While registration of drinking water supplies is an important first step, I want to assure people that there is adequate time for them to get these supplies registered and come up to speed with what they will need to do in the future as a drinking water supplier.

“There’s no need for suppliers to be worried about registration. It shouldn’t be a daunting compliance procedure or require them to start spending large amounts of money to prove their water is safe. There will be plenty of support and information from Taumata Arowai to help.”

There’s no need for suppliers to be worried about registration. It shouldn’t be a daunting compliance procedure or require them to start spending large amounts of money to prove their water is safe. There will be plenty of support and information from Taumata Arowai to help.

Taumata Arowai is committed to making registration and compliance straight forward. Following public consultation on proposed new Drinking Water Standards and Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules (Rules) earlier this year the new regulator has made significant changes to the Rules for Very Small Communities (VSC) of up to 25 people permanently (which can temporarily go up to 50 people, for up to 60 days per year), so that they now only require twice yearly microbiological testing. That means simply collecting a sample and having it tested by a registered laboratory for E. coli and total coliforms, the indicators of water quality that have been used for more than 100 years. Suppliers and laboratories will need to let the regulator know if that testing reveals any problems, which may trigger a conversation about what the issues might be and how the supplier can address them.

Bill said the consultation saw helpful and practical feedback from rural communities and has helped build a picture of what really matters to these communities.

“We used this insight to inform the new pragmatic approach which will make it considerably easier for thousands of drinking water suppliers throughout Aotearoa to understand what they need to do to meet the requirements of the Act.

“As an example, someone who might supply drinking water to their neighbour will, in most cases, be under the 25-person limit for Very Small Communities. But if they had temporary staff onsite or have a shearing gang visit that may take them over the 25-person limit. We agreed with feedback from the sector that if this is only for up to 60 days per year then they should not have to do anything additional to comply.”

Alongside the new Very Small Communities category in the Rules, there are Acceptable Solutions which provide specific solutions to enable certain supply types to meet their compliance obligations. These are a simple, pragmatic list of things people must do that are appropriate for the typically small scale, low complexity, and low risk associated with these kinds of supplies.

These Acceptable Solutions will require use of cartridge filtration and validated UV disinfection systems that have been tested against an approved international standard to ensure that in the context of each water supply (i.e., different types of source water, etc) the system is effective and has certain features (like warnings when elements of the process are not operating). Cartridge filtration and UV disinfection is a tried and true method of ensuring drinking water is safe in small water supplies.

Acceptable Solutions can be cost-effective, simple to follow, and are an alternative to preparing and implementing a drinking water safety plan. They also provide a good option for rural mixed-use suppliers, which describes many irrigation schemes. The Acceptable Solutions will allow for water to be treated at the end point (the house or building). Earlier versions of one of the Acceptable Solutions required central disinfection and chlorination –Taumata Arowai has responded to feedback that end point treatment is a more practical approach, and made the necessary changes.

Clarification has also been provided in relation to the status of existing treatment systems, with a grandfather clause now in place allowing suppliers who are already operating a disinfection system to continue to do so until the end of its operational life.

He said there has been much misinformation spread about costs to meet the Standards and Rules, but there is no need to panic.

“Unfortunately, there is rumour and misinformation circulating through rural communities claiming, among other things, that they must install expensive upgrades to their supply to come up to standard. This is not true.”

Taumata Arowai was established as the water services regulator in response to the Havelock North incident and inquiry as part of the reform of Three Waters. It is responsible for ensuring New Zealanders who are supplied with water, receive safe and reliable drinking water.

As part of its work to support private water suppliers, Taumata Arowai will have a team at Mystery Creek’s National Fieldays this summer. They are keen to hear from private water suppliers, and to answer questions about the registration and compliance pathway for unregistered supplies.

Using New Zealand native algae for nutrient pollution mitigation

The National Institute of Water and Atmos pheric Research (NIWA) is working with Māori farming enterprises on a novel pollution mitigation technology to remove nutrients from agricultural runoff.

Filamentous Algae Nutrient Scrubbers, or FANS, is a water management system used to treat agricultural drainage, animal effluent, and human wastewater.

The system is already in use in the United States, and NIWA’s Aquatic Pollution Mitiga tion Group in Hamilton is leading a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Endeavour Fund research project to develop a FANS system for use in a rural context in New Zealand.

NIWA Water Quality Scientist Dr Jason Park said on-farm trials of the FANS systems are underway in partnership with Tainui Group Holdings and the Paeahu Trust in the Waikato.

Jason said some pollution mitigation technology was constrained by episodic high drainage flows, and nutrient loads which over whelmed treatment capacity.

“Our aim is to co-develop FANS with Māori, industry, and government partners as a useful option to reduce agricultural losses and associated degradation of freshwater and estuaries.”

He said FANS could help meet the new environmental standards while protecting mahinga kai in accordance with Māori principles of kaitiakitanga. The partnership with Māori and incorporation of Māori knowledge is central to the research project.

“With our iwi partners, we will explore the potential of Mātauranga Māori to guide more holistic management of agricultural drainage and enhancement of downstream mahinga kai.”

Mātauranga will be linked with inter

national scientific advances to co-develop innovative approaches. The project is being guided by a Māori Advisory Panel with the involvement of NIWA’s Te Kūwaha, its Māori Environment Research team.

HOW IT WORKS

FANS systems use gently sloping channels to convey drainage water through dense strands of attached filamentous algae. The channels have three different water depths to determine the best depth for algal growth. They are seeded with native algae from streams near the trial sites, including oedogonium, spirogyra, rhizoclonium, and other cladophorales.

As the drainage water flows down the channel, the algae remove dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus from the water and convert them into algal biomass. As the algae grows a portion of the biomass must be harvested periodically.

The biomass could be used for natural fertiliser and animal fodder; these and other uses are being explored by the research team and iwi partners.

Water samples are taken at the inflow and outflow points of the channels every week to assess the nutrient concentrations before and after treatment.

TRIAL SITES

An outdoor FANS trial was set up at the NIWA Ruakura Algal Research Facility in Hamilton in 2021 and field scale trials next to streams on two Waikato dairy farms com menced in 2022.

One is on a property owned by the Paeahu Trust, near Morrinsville. It has two dairy units: farm number one is 73 hectares, and farm number two, where the trial is based, is 21 hectares. The herd is 420 cows, managed by a contract milker.

Trust Chairwoman Endine Dixon-Harris said the trust’s kaitiaki role is paramount when it comes to environmental responsibility for the whenua and its tributaries.

The Piakoiti Stream runs through farm number two. In the past the trust had discussed riparian planting and wetland options for the stream. NIWA approached the trust about the FANS systems and after a site visit and presentation to explain more, the trust agreed to support the project.

“The project aligns with our kaitiakitanga and matauranga Māori values towards restoring the mauri of our ancestral waterway,” Dixon-Harris said.

“The trust looks forward to positive updates from NIWA in the near future.”

Tainui Group Holdings, on behalf of Waikato-Tainui, owns more than 4000 hectares of Waikato land supporting dairy, sheep, beef, and forestry operations. A small

Photos from left:

1. NIWA staff Chris Picke, Jason Park, and Yeri Shim check over the algae growing in the water channels.

2. Researcher Yeri Shim holds in her hand mixed species of algae growing at the trial site: oedogonium, rhizoclonium, and spirogyra.

3. Water quality technician Curtis Picken and research assistant Yeri Shim, NIWA, record data gathered from the trial site next to the Piakoiti Stream.

(Photos: Stuart Mackay, NIWA)

stream flows through its 200-hectare, 620 cow Tainui Road Dairy where NIWA has established a FANS trial site.

Taiao Manager, Taroi Rawiri, said the sustainability of waterways and taonga species depended on new ideas to help reduce the negative impacts of nutrient runoff.

“As kaitiaki of these whenua, it is vital we demonstrate leadership in improving farming operations to promote positive steps towards restoring the health and wellbeing of our waterways.

“The vision of our iwi is that we may one day see again the pristine environmental state that was observed by the second Māori King, Kingi Tāwhiao, as he composed his lament for Waikato River and his homelands, noting their significance as a treasure for all generations.”

Tainui Road Dairy Farm manager Greg Boswell said the stream is crucial to the farm because it is the only waterway that runs all year. “We know watercress grows in the stream and we have seen freshwater crayfish in it too. There’s even an eel that comes out to say gidday near the NIWA trial site, so it is worth the extra attention it’s getting from the research.”

DATA COLLECTION

Jason said monitoring from March to July 2022 showed the FANS trials had produced 16.4 tonnes of algal biomass. It had removed 370kg of nitrogen and 75kg of phosphorus from the waterway per hectare, per year, through subsequent algal biomass harvest.

“We expect the biomass production and nutrient removal will more than double in the upcoming summer.”

Data collected from the field trials will help researchers and the Māori land managers determine the level of nutrients FANS systems can remove. It can then be compared with other nutrient pollution mitigation systems such as wetlands, woodchip bio reactors, and riparian management.

“We already know a FANS system can be established in a few weeks and be operational soon after, and is much more cost-effective than a constructed wetland, for example,” Jason said. “But it requires more maintenance than a wetland, to regularly harvest the algal biomass. We are investigating whether a full-scale model could be harvested every month, quarter, or even just once a year.”

The five-year FANS research project is now into its third year. The data to date suggests that FANS could be used across a range of land types and nutrient loads. Jason said larger trial sites will be established and tested during the 2022–23 financial year.

The algae remove dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus from the water and convert them into algal biomass, which is harvested once a week. Future uses for biomass could include fertiliser or animal fodder.

(Photo: Stuart Mackay, NIWA)

Environment Canterbury data show effects of wet winter on our land

It won’t surprise many Cantabrians to learn that July 2022 was officially the wettest month ever recorded in our region. Our seasonal rainfall, groundwater and river flow paint a picture of just how wet it was, and what effect that’s had on our land.

Wet on the coast – and even wetter inland

Our Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) map (below) gives a colour-coded picture of how much rainfall we’ve recorded across Canterbury, compared to the normal level for that season.

Winter is usually our wettest season, but this one was exceptionally soggy. And while we all felt the brunt of that wet winter, inland parts of Canterbury were by far wetter. Likewise, our alpine rivers and spring-fed streams alike are still running at higher levels that expected in early spring.

South and coastal soils dry no more NIWA produces daily soil moisture maps (above), and if we compare the picture on the first (left) and last (right) days of winter, we see a major change.

That ground that was very dry – like Banks Peninsula and most of South Canterbury, is now much damper, especially in the extreme north and south.

While that has made farming difficult for some, it’s been very helpful in recharging the region’s aquifers.

A look down our wells shows very high groundwater levels around Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri.

The large increase in dark blue dots from the start of winter (below left) and end of winter (below right) gives us a visual representation of a marked rise in groundwater levels.

For more data and information on our wet winter vist ecan.govt.nz/freshwater

Keeping on top in a changing environment

We know you’re hearing a lot about new rules and changes on farm from us, as well as from your peers, industry partners and the Government.

We don’t want to overload you with information or demands, so we’re trying to give you time to adjust to new rules and regulations. But to let you know what’s happening, we want to give you a heads up on a few areas where we will be reaching out to the rural community. You may receive mail or see content from us on the following over the next few months, some of which may apply to you and some which won’t:

• Follow-up information on synthetic nitrogen use reporting for those who haven’t already heard from us

• Information on potential hazard sites for relevant properties in Waimate

• Invoices for water use data processing

• Information on the new intensive winter grazing rules and how you can comply

• New ideas on how to reduce nitrogen use and leaching without cutting productivity

• Information on our implementation of Plan Change 7 of the Land & Water Regional Plan and progress towards a new planning framework for Canterbury

• Updates on the Government’s Essential Freshwater package and our approach to topics such as wetlands

• Updates on the Overseer interim solution and the Government’s progress towards a new or improved tool.

We’re also in the process of updating our online guidance. On the Farmers’ Hub ecan.govt.nz/farmers-hub you will find new information on practices like fertigation, managing silage and checking your private drinking water source.

If you need to reach out to someone, contact your local land management advisor or rural industry body for more information.

New intensive winter grazing rules

It’s been a wet winter, and that means a challenging time managing animal welfare and environmental impacts on the farm.

Intensive winter grazing – where stock are fed an annual forage crop over the colder months – is one of the most high-risk activities in terms of potential impact on water quality. As part of the Government’s Essential Freshwater package of regulations, new intensive winter grazing rules come into force on 1 November this year.

These include changes to the Permitted Activity rules you will need to meet and follow for land area, slope, distance from waterways and critical source areas. If you can’t meet these rules you will need to apply for Resource Consent for your intensive winter grazing activity. Either way, you will need to have an Intensive Winter Grazing Management Plan that identifies and manages the risks associated with intensive winter grazing.

We know that Canterbury farmers have made great progress in getting Farm Environment Plans and implementing good management practices for intensive winter grazing, so we’ll be taking a managed and education-first approach to compliance.

For more information on whether you meet the Permitted Activity rules – or can adapt your farming practices to meet them – or if you’ll need a resource consent, as well as how to apply for resource consent, see the full guidance at ecan.govt.nz/winter-grazing

Reporting your synthetic nitrogen use

Nitrate levels in our streams and groundwater are a growing source of concern across Canterbury – for both human and ecosystem health. The use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser is one of the main causes of rising nitrate levels and a decline in water quality.

That’s why in July last year, the Government introduced new nitrogen fertiliser rules as part of its Essential Freshwater package. These rules included a cap on nitrogen fertiliser use at 190 kg per hectare, and a requirement for dairy farmers to report synthetic nitrogen fertiliser use to your regional council.

The national online reporting tool n-cap.teurukahika.govt.nz is now up and running, and ready for you to report your synthetic nitrogen use for the 2021-22 year.

The rules state that synthetic nitrogen use must be submitted by July 31 each year. However, as the regulator responsible for receiving this information, we are not enforcing that deadline, recognising that it’s a busy time right now on the farm and that the reporting tool was not ready in time.

If you haven’t yet reported your synthetic nitrogen use, please take some time over the next month to check out the guidance on our website at ecan.govt.nz/ncap

There you’ll find links to the national reporting tool, as well as the Ballance and Ravensdown reporting tools, and a list of what you’ll need to complete the reporting.

If you have any further questions, contact your fertiliser supplier, industry partner, or email us at ncap@ecan.govt.nz

Managing your silage correctly

We know that many Canterbury farmers use silage pits as a way to create and store feed.

Done well, managing your own silage can be a cost-effective alternative to buying feed, creating baleage, or intensive crop grazing

But silage storage creates environmental risks that must be carefully managed.

We recently published a webpage with updated guidance on the industry-agreed good management practices for silage.

It also outlines the Permitted Activity rules for silage – regarding where to site your silage pit and how to manage leachate.

If you can’t follow the Permitted Activity rules, you will have to apply for a Resource Consent.

Check out the full guidance for managing silage at ecan.govt.nz/silage.

Prevention is the most cost-effective protection against pests

The spread of plant pests can seem slow and easy to ignore, but the earlier you eliminate pest species, the less it will affect your farm’s bottom line.

Plant pests often go undetected until it’s too late, with established pests becoming an expensive and time-consuming long-term burden for farmers. The financial and environmental repercussions of not paying attention to the spread of pests are intergenerational.

Plant pests can dominate pasture, affecting quality and displacing desirable palatable species. Some, such as Chilean needle grass or saffron thistle can also cause animal welfare issues. Control programmes for plant pests can be costly, as can potential restrictions imposed on vehicle movements and/or the prohibition of things such as stock and hay sales.

Plant pests could arrive at your place via many different sources, on vehicles, machinery, stock, feed, seed and even on clothing. All of these can harbour seed and plant material and spread unwanted invaders around the region and even across the country.

You can help protect your assets by reducing the potential for plant pests to enter your property. Consider implementing a few simple biosecurity practices at your place.

Ask visitors to your property to arrive clean

Mud or soil contaminated with seeds or plant material can easily transport pests to your place. Ask visitors to arrive clean and/or designate a wash-down area and provide facilities to remove any soil or plant material before entering or leaving your property.

Have one entry point and a sign outlining your requirements

Make sure your sign is visible and includes your phone number so visitors can confirm your expectations as necessary. If possible, keep a register of visitors (similar to a health and safety register), and direct them to a designated parking area.

Hold incoming stock in a designated area for 24 hours upon arrival

Many invasive species such as yellow bristle grass produce seeds that can survive in rumen and germinate through dung. On arrival, ensure stock are emptied in the same paddock each time before moving on to your farm. This gives the best opportunity to identify any potential invaders early.

Source verified seed and feed

It is important to know where your seed and feed has come from to ensure it’s not contaminated. If you’re not sure, ask! You can question what biosecurity measures the supplier has in place and whether there are any species that you should know about.

These pests are in low numbers in Canterbury, but all have the potential to spread across the region. They are all expensive to contain and control, reduce pasture quality, and can limit income and property values.

Be on the lookout for

Saffron thistle

If it looks unusual, report it!

Puna grass Chilean needle grass

We need everyone to keep their eyes out for species that can threaten Canterbury’s production values. If you see any unusual plant and animal pests, report them through the Find-a-Pest app or by visiting reportpests.nz

Taking action together to shape a thriving and resilient Canterbury, now and for future generations. Toitū te marae o Tāne, toitū te marae o Tangaroa, toitū te iwi. www.ecan.govt.nz

Stephen McNally Principal Technical Advisor IrrigationNZ

Technical matters

It was my Grandad, a market gardener on Bombay Hill in South Auckland, that told me, “Don’t small talk about the weather unless it’s relevant” – well coming out of this winter, it’s certainly relevant! For some districts, such as Nelson and Northland, the number of severe weather events has been challenging, impacting the soils we farm and our irrigation infrastructure. Sediment and saturation have been problems.

Combined with wind, damage to blossoms and fruit rubbing might lead to some yield and quality issues this year. In the context of New Zealand’s freshwater resource availability, we’ve certainly seen some big flows which in some cases means storage is full, where it exists. That’s a good thing coming from the rainfall! It also highlights the need to advance the strategic thinking on capture and storage strategies within adaptive allocation policies. We continue to work on these matters with central and local government agencies in constructive working relationships, supported by our technical program and close collaboration with our industry members.

NPS HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE LAND

The growth of towns and cities is occurring on some of our most productive land. About 15 percent of land in Aotearoa New Zealand is estimated to be highly productive (based on land-use capability classification). In the last 20 years, over 35,000 hectares (ha) of highly productive land has been lost to urban or rural residential development and 170,000 ha has been converted to lifestyle blocks.

The Government launched the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL) on September 19 this year. It responds to a 2018 detailed assessment of threats facing highly productive land in Aotearoa New Zealand, and builds on

submissions on the policy gathered in 2019. It’s taken a while for this policy to move quietly through the legislative process. In its 2018 submission

IrrigationNZ was supportive of the government recognising the need to protect highly productive land, and emphasised that one important factor which allows land to reach its productive potential is access to water.

Access to water is crucial as high value land use requires water on a highly reliable basis throughout the growing season to ensure crop quality, thus maintaining market access. Capture and storage of water is a key to making highly productive land truly valuable.

The NPS-HPL is developed under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) which we know is also under review. There is also a parallel NPS for Urban Development. Regional councils are currently grappling with the development and notification of new land and water plans to meet the requirements of the NPSFreshwater. The NPS-HPL will add a new element for them to consider in their plan development, but will give councils more clarity on how to map the country’s most productive land to prevent inappropriate subdivision, use, and development. It is important to give councils a clear direction so they can balance the demand for housing and urban growth with the protection of highly productive land.

IrrigationNZ is working closely with the government in the development of an overarching water strategy that aligns policy work programmes – such as highly productive land and soils, climate change, freshwater quality, freshwater allocation, and climate change adaptation.

DAM SAFETY REGULATIONS

As highlighted in previous IrrigationNZ publications, the Dam Safety Regulations were launched in May this year. They come into effect in just two years and will impose obligations on dam owners to determine if their water storage structures exceed the threshold to become classifiable, which in turn places obligations on determining risk of failure and the need for safety assurance plans.

IrrigationNZ is assisting the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) with additional information that will help our rural community understand this legislation and address their obligations in a logical and pragmatic way. The first step is ensuring a dam owner understands the size and capacity of their structure, as the Dam Safety Regulations introduce different thresholds to local building consent requirements and will be effective retrospectively over existing structures.

IrrigationNZ still holds some concerns on the capability and capacity in regions to implement these regulations. The policy has been developed based on a dam inventory for New Zealand which IrrigationNZ believes considerably understates the count of the number of affected structures. This is not surprising, because many regional consenting authorities simply have not maintained databases on smaller dam structures as they have concentrated on the previously defined large dams. IrrigationNZ is working with partners to help more accurately assess the

number of dams this legislation will impact, which inform whether there are sufficient experts to address the risk. IrrigationNZ is aware there are some water storage structures in rural New Zealand that need to be addressed; situations where they are over topping, slumping or leaking, and/or with the real risk of failure in a high rainfall or seismic event.

Once the inventory data has been better defined, the next step is determining a better way to inform the actual risk of failure and resultant impact classification. This Potential Impact Classification (PIC) is informed by the presence of downstream infrastructure, environmental and cultural sites, and population at risk. In many rural locations the risk will be low, and the original intent of the legislation was to avoid low risk farm structures being caught up in this legalisation. This is an ongoing work program for IrrigationNZ.

DRINKING WATER REGULATIONS

In a separate item provided by Taumata Arowai on page 18 the amendments and improvements to the implementation of the Drinking Water Safety Standards have been highlighted. IrrigationNZ and others from the rural sectors made submissions to Taumata Arowai on how an acceptable treatment solution could be adopted to help ensure safety from waterborne contamination for our rural residents and workers.

Taumata Arowai has listened to submitters

and in their consideration have agreed that the intervention needs to be matched to the level of risk. The key amendments will be that for drinking water suppliers supplying less than 25 people or where large numbers of people are only supplied for less than 60 days, i.e., seasonal work forces, the requirement for point of supply treatment will not be mandatory. However, the requirement to ensure water supplies are safe remains, and this is a reasonable expectation. The regulations will require regular and relatively simple testing for the main culprit, E. Coli in the water supply. Presence of this bacterial indicator will require the supplier to do something about it. Again, this is not unreasonable, and helps keep our rural community safe from debilitating illness.

IrrigationNZ is pleased with the approach being taken by Taumata Arowai, and the time frame that already exists for implementation. There are still several years before the regulations require suppliers to be registered and several years after that before the installation of treatment is required. It would be sensible to keep ahead of the game in this regard and consider what risks already exist if you are supplying drinking water to your family, staff and community.

SYNTHETIC NITROGEN USE RECORDING TOOL

Te Uru Kahika Regional and Unitary Councils of NZ (www.lgnz.co.nz/regionals/) have launched a nitrogen reporting tool

in response to legislative requirements. The NPS-Freshwater regulations require owners of dairy platforms to provide annual data on synthetic nitrogen use to their regional council.

The synthetic nitrogen cap (N-cap) applies to all grazed land (including grass and annual forage crop) except for the grazing of livestock on the stubble of arable crops, with the following conditions:

• Each hectare of grass pasture has a limit of 190 kg/ha/yr - no area of pasture can exceed this level without a resource consent.

• On land planted with fodder crops, the limit of 190 kg/ha/yr may be exceeded to meet the needs of some types of plants, but the average across the pastoral system must not exceed 190.

Farm managers need to record or retain information about the following from 1 July 2021:

• The area of land in pastoral land use, including the parts of that land used to grow annual forage crops, and in other uses.

• The receipts of purchased synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.

• The types of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser applied and, for each type, the percentage of the nitrogen component by dry weight.

• The rate at which each type of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser was applied to the land in pastoral land use and, within that land, to the land used to grow annual forage crops and to other land.

• The dates on which the synthetic nitrogen fertiliser was applied.

The reporting period is the 12 months to the end of June each year.

The new reporting tool is a web-based form that allows farmers to provide data on their N-cap information for the purposes of compliance with the Resource Management (National Environmental Standards for Freshwater) Regulations 2020 Subpart 4— Application of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser to pastoral land regulations.

Environment Canterbury, as the national host of the N-cap Reporting Tool will be the initial recipient of the data, which it will save in a secure datastore. Each regional and unitary council will receive an automatic report of data for its region only from the

datastore for monitoring of compliance. Aggregated data, without any contact details, will be automatically sent from the datastore to the Ministry for the Environment for compliance reporting by councils.

This data, like all compliance data, can be requested under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). Each request for data is considered on its merits by a council to determine if there are grounds to withhold it under LGOIMA, and with careful consideration of the principles of the Privacy Act 2020.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

IrrigationNZ is committed to continuing to help upskill those working in the irrigation industry. Over the last year and a half we have trained over 60 people in the NZ Certificate of Irrigation Design and the NZ Certificate of Irrigation Performance Assessment.

Another 80 people were recently added to that number with the beginning of the Certificate III in Irrigation Technology course.

Due to an agreement between IrrigationNZ and Irrigation Australia, the Certificate III in Irrigation Technology course which is currently registered in Australia is now being taught in New Zealand for the first time.

IrrigationNZ has organised for experienced trainers from Australia to deliver the block courses to the industry. The course will take between 18 and 24 months to complete, and includes classroom training and practical workplace experience. Students who complete the full course will be awarded the Australian Certificate III in Irrigation Technology. The pilot course commenced on 19 September 2022 and is being well supported by the irrigation industry.

It is an exciting course to be able to offer

The first intake of Cert lll students and tutors.

Back Row (from left): Anthony Simpson, Irrigation Services; Connor Stuart, Think Water; Aiden Botha, Waterforce; Perry Costen, AgServe; Sam Briggs, Rainer Irrigation; Stuart Alexander, Trainer for Irrigation Australia Trainer; Stephen McNally, IrrigationNZ; Geoff Harvey, National Training, Certification & Marketing Manager for Irrigation Australia; Julie Melhopt, IrrigationNZ. Front Row (from left): Cam Lang, SWE; Beej Singh, Plains Irrigators; Oliver Shivnan, ThinkWater; Bailey Kingsbury, Kirk Irrigation; Sumaya Mir, SWE.

those starting out or currently working in the irrigation industry. There are so many different aspects of irrigation, including; system performance and design, health and safety, and technology, which is ever-evolving and becoming more and more important. These are great elements within our training courses which help to build career pathways within the irrigation sector.

We have enjoyed taking the opportunity to work with Irrigation Australia and share resources as part of a Memorandum of Understanding between our two organisations.

Future intakes are planned for 2023 and anyone interested in attending can register their interest by visiting the IrrigationNZ website at www.irrigationnz.co.nz or by emailing admin@irrigationnz.co.nz.

IrrigationNZ is also partnering with Hanga-Aro-Rau and Muka Tungata Work force Development Councils to extend their understanding of the industry’s needs, and gaps in the current qualifications for the irri gation sector. As part of this, Hanga-Aro-Rau will consider if the Australian Cert III quali fication is fit for purpose in a New Zealand

context. The Australian qualification may form part, but not the entirety, of a future New Zealand training solution. We will need to ensure it meets New Zealand’s criteria for academic quality and funding.

ACCREDITATION MEETING SEPTEMBER 2022

IrrigationNZ ran a workshop on Monday 19 September focused on our technical industry members and partners looking at aspects of accreditation. There were a wide set of topics explored across things such as policy drivers, regulatory interpretations, capability and capacity building for our people, and how to set and maintain accountabilities around best practice performance.

During the workshop we heard from the Ministry for the Environment on their policy initiatives and regulations around freshwater management which helped set the scene for some of the drivers we are facing for change. The Ministry for Primary Industries talked about the water availability and security strategic initiatives, and how new programs will provide on farm advisory support across New Zealand.

Te Waihanga, the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, presented on how our built infrastructure may be affected by climate change and what we will need to consider as we adapt for an uncertain future.

We also heard from the Workforce

Development Councils for both Engineering and Primary Sectors on how we will be able to build our industry capability and capacity programs to address expectations on supporting best practice standards.

This workshop reconnected IrrigationNZ, its members, and stakeholders on these topics but the conversations held were just the beginning. There are still many challenges to overcome in responding to local and global change, and as we know, there are leaders and followers in the adaptation journey. There is no doubt change can be costly and intimidating. Due to modern visibility and transparency, social licence, when well informed, is still imperative for us to consider across the entire sector.

To paraphrase one lot of feedback, “we have all seen the pain farmers have gone through from having irrigation installations, where the system is clearly not performing. The uncertified company usually wants nothing to do with commissioning tests. Other companies, understandably, don’t want to have anything to do with diagnosing and fixing someone else’s mistakes. Nobody is accountable, and nothing gets done. The farmer can be left doing their own checks. In summary, big picture (cost and service to farmers, environmental and agronomic benefits), there do need to be certification standards

in place so farmers aren’t getting ripped off by cowboys and so that everyone knows what is required through robust, clear standards that are implemented independently by certified people.”

It is somewhat surprising that we still hear the term “cowboys” used about some people and organisations in the sector, and “we don’t do commissioning” in the narrative about our industry. While other feedback suggested legislation is not the only or best mechanism to drive improvement, maybe we need sharper teeth regarding the tail-end stragglers; those who haven’t, can’t or won’t change.

The alternative and more acceptable approach is that we need better incentives, rewards, and acknowledgement for the leading edge, providing some aspirational targets. This applies to irrigation customers as well, who may need education about what they should expect or specify in a new system development. We need practitioners to learn about new technology and irrigation best practice.

We are gathering our notes in debriefs and we’ll communicate next steps over the coming weeks, as well as engaging with specific groups for more in-depth analysis. The work we will continue to do builds on the work shop discussions to address how we build mana and robustness for capability training, qualifications, and accreditation in a changing regulatory and biophysical environment.

FISH SCREEN PROJECT

In late 2019 IrrigationNZ (on behalf of the New Zealand Fish Screen Technical Working Group) received a grant from the Sustainable Farming Fund to further research fish screen design criteria. The aim of the research is to provide clear and simple guidance on fish screen requirements, and provide solutions and guidance on existing fish screen deficiencies.

This work is helping to develop more effective fish screen designs by getting a better understanding of fish behaviour at intakes, improving design guidance, and informing the development of appropriate future consent conditions.

Awakino Trial Site Update

In December 2021 the first demonstration screen was installed in the Awakino River. Between installation and June 2022, six trials have been conducted to gauge the effectiveness of the fish screen.

Completing the current project milestone required the design, installation, testing, and recommendations of a Bossman fish screen installed in the West Branch of the Awakino River – a tributary of the Waitaki River in North Otago. This river is characterised as a flashy alpine river with large variances in flow. It contains a mix of very large boulders, medium cobbles and smaller gravel substrate, and is in an isolated location with no electricity.

Identifying how well the fish screen performed required the observation of fish behaviour, monitoring of fish passage through and past the screen, and if there was a safe return of fish back to the river. Fish screen effectiveness was assessed against the following seven guideline criteria outlined in Jamieson et al (2007).

• Location: Is the site located to minimise exposure of fish to the fish screen structure and does it minimise the length of stream channel affected while providing the best possible conditions for meeting other criteria?

• Screening material: were fish prevented from penetrating the screen and becoming trapped in the irrigation system and was the surface smooth enough to prevent any damage/injury to the fish?

• Approach velocity: was the water velocity onto and through the screen (the approach velocity) low enough so that fish could escape the screen by swimming away from the screen face?

• Sweep velocity: were fish diverted away from the face of the screen by a flow mov ing across the screen and toward a bypass?

• Bypass design: did fish locate and use a bypass, and did the bypass return fish safely to the river?

• Bypass connectivity: was there “connectivity” between the fish bypass and somewhere safe? Usually, an actively flowing main stem of the waterway.

• Operation and maintenance: was the screen operated and/or maintained in a manner that ensured its effectiveness as a screen?

The overall assessment of effectiveness of the screen is based on the proportion of fish from a known release number to be returned by the fish screen to the river of origin, the critical flow conditions within the fish screen, and the health of fish exposed to the fish screen compared to the health of fish released.

The fish screen testing programme (six trials in total) evolved in response to issues identified in each trial stage. In the final trial using seven fish species, between 69 percent

and 100 percent of fish released used either the upstream bypass or the screen bypass that returned them to the Awakino River. Five of the seven species used in the trial, including all the salmonids, made 100 percent use of the bypasses. Zero fish were recovered from the irrigation scheme side of the fish screen in any trials.

The final report for the “Trial of fish screen effectiveness at Awakino River West Branch irrigation intake” is now complete and able to be viewed on the IrrigationNZ fish screen webpage on www.irrigationnz.co.nz/

KnowledgeResources/FishScreens

Fish Screen Guidance Tool:

The project’s Technical Advisory Group has continued developing the Fish Screen Guidance Tool over the course of the project. The aim of this tool is to assist landowners, designers, fisheries managers, engineers, irrigation consultants, and regional councils in the identification and selection of a preferred site and fish screen type when looking to install, replace, or upgrade a fish screen.

The guidance tool is currently being updated to reflect feedback received from initial users and matters that arose from the workshopping of real-world examples by the group.

It is available on the fish screen page of the IrrigationNZ website www.irrigationnz. co.nz/KnowledgeResources/FishScreens and will remain there for access by anyone. As a working draft, it is expected that further iterations of the guidance tool will continue to be released as required. We continue to welcome feedback on the tool, and this can be addressed to Bridget at bridget@irricon.co.nz. Please share the tool with anyone you believe may find it useful.

Note: The guidance tool is to be used as a guide only and prompts thinking about the various aspects of fish screen decision-making that have become apparent. It is very important that when using the Guidance Tool users take note of the instructions on the first tab about how to correctly populate the tables. We still strongly recommend that landowners seek expert advice to ensure they select and install a fish screen that is fully compliant with the regulations and their resource consent conditions.

Water storage –unlocking land potential and providing security

Stephen and Samantha Wade, owners of Lynwood Avocado Nursery.

As a kid, Stephen Wade said conversations used to follow the idea that water would be the new oil, and he used to think, “we need the oil more.” However, now water really is the valued commodity. Gaining access to more water for irrigation has allowed him to embark on an exciting new development.

Stephen and his wife Samantha own Lynwood Avocado Nursery in Maunu, which is just out of Whangarei. Lynwood is home to a four-hectare avocado orchard, as well as a seven-hectare nursery growing plants for retail stores and other growers.

Lynwood was purchased by Stephen’s grandparents in 1941. The name Lynwood is derived from Linwood, where they had relocated from, and Lyn, his grandmother’s name.

One of the challenges when it comes to irrigating avocado plants is to get the watering right, as it is very easy to overwater. It is a sensitive plant and is susceptible to a lack of oxygen due to the primitive root system, but at the same time they need enough water.

It was not until 1983 that avocado plants were in the ground. Prior to that the land was used for grazing. Stephen said when they were making the decision on what to grow to best utilise the rich volcanic soils, the decision was between avocado, kiwifruit, and macadamia. Avocados were the winner and have been in place ever since.

By 1988 the Lynwood Nursery was producing trees. In 2001 it produced 10,000 trees, and now produces upwards of 130,000 a year.

Stephen said he had been growing avocados for “so long I can’t remember what I was doing beforehand”. However, prior to orcharding he completed a commerce degree in accounting. “I learnt great skills that I’ve been able to integrate into our business over the years.”

The orchard and nursery has always been irrigated by a deep bore on the property. The orchard is irrigated mostly through the key growing season, October to April, and the nursery requires irrigation all year round. The nursery has an overhead watering system, and the orchard has micro sprinklers. “We certainly wouldn’t have the nursery without irrigation, and the orchard wouldn’t be as productive.”

“One of the challenges when it comes to irrigating avocado plants is to get the watering right, as it is very easy to overwater. It is a sensitive plant and is susceptible to a lack of oxygen due to the primitive root system, but at the same time they need enough water.”

The business has grown exponentially since its early days, and Stephen has also taken up opportunities outside the gate. In 2008 they won the Balance Farm Environment Horticulture award and again in 2017 for Innovation and Water Management. He has been chairman of the NZ Avocado Nursery Association. He began in this role in 2008 and continues to be intermittently involved, so far for a total of ten years.

More recently they have purchased 56 hectares of land, 40 of which they are in the process of developing for avocado growing. This land was previously part of a 300 hectare dairy farm. This new venture would not have been embarked upon without the promise of irrigation.

“I would not contemplate orcharding without it, and taking soil and climate into account, too.” So when Stephen got wind of the new

Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust development he jumped at the opportunity. He said they had been wanting to expand, and purchased land near the Kaipara Water Scheme in June last year. (Read about the scheme on page 32).

“The first 15 hectares will be planted in November, and we’ve spent the last year working towards that. Our aim is to plant the remaining 25 in spring 2023.”

The new location is mostly sandy soil. Stephen said that although his knowledge about irrigation and water management was expansive after years in the business and from seeing a variety of systems through visiting clients, he was not knowledgeable about sandy soils. So they drew on expertise to help design the system.

The irrigation system is a micro-sprinkler system, with fertigation. Soil moisture levels through the soil profile will be closely monitored, and water applied appropriately in response to that data.

“We have included fertigation, which we haven’t before, and the soil moisture measuring is more exact. We now measure volumetric water content every 200mm through the soil profile down to 1.2 metres. We are also measuring the electrical conductivity so we can optimise the levels of nutrient inputs.”

He said they hoped frost would not be an issue at the new location, and that due to the undulating nature of the land the deep gullies should be frost-free.

Stephen said what they were doing was exciting and it

Lynwood Avocado Nursery.

was possible thanks to the new water storage. “It is very satisfying turning land into something, developing a wider support network, and employing people. I think New Zealand does not have a lack of water but a lack of storage. Small dams like what we are going to be using could be better used across New Zealand and what’s great about this one is the water is captured shortly before it would head out to sea, so the environmental impacts are minimal.”

The land they are developing was not previously irrigated and they are one of the first businesses to take on new development as part of the new scheme.

“I’m looking forward to the education, and am hoping to hold open days once we’re up and going, to show what water can do.”

Stephen believes they can produce an orchard that is more competitive than previous land use, not only environmentally, and economically, but also socially, through more employment.

After all his years of growing avocados, Stephen said he still loves them, and there is always one with lunch and dinner.

He said the greatest satisfaction from his work is growing a young, healthy plant and knowing you are doing it right. He looks forward to achieving that more in the coming years.

Stephen said they would start using the water at the new development in November, albeit in small volumes.

IrrigationNZ Annual General Meeting and Awards Evening

Wednesday 26 October 2022

All members are welcome, please join us. Held in Wellington at the ANZ Building, 171 Featherston Street. AGM begins at 4.30pm followed by the awards evening at 6pm, attendees can choose to come to either sessions or both.

The awards evening is a great opportunity to come together and celebrate as we recognise the winners. The Innovation in Irrigation Award, in association with Ballance Agri-Nutrients, celebrates, encourages, and promotes innovation, alongside the positive initiatives being undertaken in our communities with, and as a result of, irrigation.

The Ron Cocks Memorial Award recognises a person who has made a significant contribution to irrigation in New Zealand. We will also recognise our Honorary Member for 2022.

Guest Speaker: Damien O’Connor, Minister of Agriculture

Drinks and nibbles will be available at the awards evening thanks to the generous sponsorship of Anderson Lloyd

Please RSVP at www.irrigationnz.co.nz/ EventsAndTraining/AGM

Te Tai Tokerau – Water storage in Northland taking shape

Te Tai Tokerau Water Trust (the Trust) was created in mid-2020 to initiate water storage and distribution schemes in two areas in Northland that have high-quality soils, and therefore horticultural potential. These areas are near Kaikohe in the Mid North, and on the northern Pouto peninsula south of Dargaville. The first stages provide infrastructure to enable approximately 2500 hectares of new horticulture.

While Northland enjoys high average annual rainfall, a lack of storage means much of this valuable resource which falls on the whenua can’t be retained for use in times of shortage. By creating reservoirs and distribution schemes, landowners with access to them will be able to plan and implement future land use changes with greater confidence.

The Trust’s objective is to develop several independent water schemes to enable the establishment of commercially viable and environmentally sustainable horticulture.

This will provide economic and employment opportunities in both regions. They could also provide additional capacity for municipal water supplies should district councils elect to buy shares in the schemes. This means the need for water restrictions in towns like Kaikohe and Dargaville could be reduced.

The Trust will build the schemes, but the long-term plan is for control of each of them to transition to separate water companies which are controlled by their shareholders. This process is well underway, with an initial offering of shares in the Kaipara Water company due to close on the 30th of September.

With funding assistance from Kānoa –Regional Economic Development and Invest ment Unit, and support from Northland Regional Council the Trust aims to have water available in both areas in 2023.

At the heart of everything the Trust is doing is the belief that the water schemes are being developed for the benefit of the entire

community. The Trust has consulted widely with iwi and the larger community in both areas where developments are planned, and will continue to do so as the project moves forward. It’s important to the Trust that the community is informed about what is going on and able to get answers to any questions.

The Trust has received $68 million from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) to complete the first stage of the project. Of this, $8.5 million is in the form of a grant, and the rest is a loan. The next stage of development, which could see the schemes in both regions enlarged, would occur once there is sufficient demand.

A study of the potential economic impacts of the proposed schemes has shown they could create up to 440 new jobs and lift the value of output in the Mid North by $178 million. The Kaipara scheme could create up to 437 new jobs and lift the value of output in the region by $220 million.

Top row: The development stages of the Matawii storage reservoir; Bottom left: Te Waihekeora (stage 1) with signage indicating availability of shares in Kaipara Water Company – September 2022; Bottom right: Te Waihekeora (stage 1) beginning to be filled – July 2022.

(Photo: Progressive Earthmoving)

Snapshot on progress

Construction of the Matawii reservoir near Kaikohe is near completion. Matawii covers about 18 hectares and will have a capacity of 750,000m3 It is hoped to be fully operational by summer 2022/23. The Trust has already secured several shareholders who wish to use the water.

Resource consents have been granted to construct a 4 million m3 reservoir in Waimate North under the COVID 19 Recovery (Fast track Consenting) Act 2020.

The Kaipara Water Company has been estab lished to own, use, and manage the Kaipara water scheme.

The Kaipara water scheme includes the Te Waihekeora reservoir near Glinks Gully, which is situated in a natural basin approximately 75m above sea level on top of rolling sand dunes.

Stage one of the reservoir is now completed. This 300,000m3 lined reservoir has been constructed to provide water for initial avocado plantings and shelter establishment this summer.

Stage Two, due for completion in June 2023, will also be lined and will cover approximately 42 hectares.

The completed reservoir will hold 3.3 million m3 of water. There is almost no natural catchment to fill the reservoir. Instead, it is dependent upon water harvested from the consented water that takes on the Te Kopuru Flats. Water will be harvested during periods of higher flow and stored for distribution during the summer months.

Investigating the need for capture and storage of freshwater in New Zealand

Conan Moynihan values the importance of freshwater resources and appreciates that New Zealand is extremely fortunate when it comes to natural freshwater resources. But there are inefficiencies in the way it is currently managed, and if the management was improved the country's climate change resilience could be greatly improved. When the opportunity came to complete the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme, Conan decided to research more about how utilising water capture and storage solutions and market based systems could help solve rural New Zealand’s future water security issues. We caught up with him to learn about what he discovered.

Please tell us about your background

I am currently an Environmental Advisor at Central Plains Water (CPW), an irrigation scheme in Canterbury. Previously I worked as a hazardous materials and contaminated land consultant for WSP and Thomas Consultants. I hail from a hill county drystock property in South Canterbury, which I worked on until I moved to Auckland in 2016. I am interested in irrigation as it provides/enables security for our food and fibre production.

What did your research involve?

Could you tell us about your findings?

As part of the Kellogg Programme a report is required to be prepared as part of the research project. My research involved a literature review of current research on water resource solutions and allocation models, which helped to guide my semi-structured interviews with industry experts on their experiences. The themes from the literature review and interview were then used to evaluate what is already happening in the New Zealand land scape and discuss the endeavour of building

water resilience for our communities.

New Zealand is extremely fortunate when it comes to natural water resources. However, under a changing climate our water security is under threat, particularly for New Zealand’s rural communities. Our freshwater resource is at the heart of our prosperity and the resilience of our communities. With increas ing demand from all sectors, it is crucial that New Zealand efficiently manages our freshwater and that it is allocated to its best uses. Water capture and storage systems have been identified as key adaptations to climate change. New Zealand has underinvested in water capture and storage infrastructure for decades. Future systems will need to be multi-purpose to utilise freshwater to its full potential under a Te Mana o te Wai frame work. How we slice the pie of water allocation within these multi-purpose systems will be critical to the success of sustainable growth for rural communities. New Zealand must build climate resilience through water capture and storage systems, and the implementa tion of market-based systems should be used to manage the allocation of freshwater within catchments. Collective management

of the resource will provide the vehicle for implementing strategy, gaining financing, and undertaking the water allocation reform required to meet expectations for the environment. Water users may question whether there will be return on investment to meet new allocation models and associated water quality standards. However, the real question is whether they can afford not to.

What do the findings show?

1. There is a lack of specific oversight and strategy for managing New Zealand’s freshwater resources.

2. Current water allocation models need to go through reform at both national and local policy levels.

3. Rights of existing users including iwi need to be addressed. Allocation reform will be unable to be successful without tackling this issue first.

4. Current management of the resource is in silos, which is inefficient and costly for both the environment and water users. Collective management of fresh water is needed to create efficient use of the resource.

CPW storage pond located in Sheffield. This pond utilises water from both the Waimakariri and Kowai rovers to irrigate an area of approximately 4300 hectares. This pond was first used in the 2017/2018 irrigation season.

5. Costs, planning, and perception of building infrastructure solutions are prohibitive to investment in development of water security infrastructure.

6. Water capture and storage is needed to build water resilience against climate change for rural communities. Solutions will vary between catchments, but significant investment is required.

7. Market-based systems are a tool for creating efficiency of water use, and help to reallocate water to higher value uses. Collective management entities are able to easily implement market-based systems, provided the system is closed (e.g. within one aquifer or reservoir etc), they have an accurate optimisation model, and real time data.

What is the overall goal of completing this report?

With the climate changing we need to start working towards water resilient solutions that will help build New Zealand’s climate resilience, particularly for our rural communities. We must at least design and begin implementing a strategy to better manage our freshwater resource that creates efficiency from all water users making the most of what we already have under the Te Mana o te Wai framework. Hopefully my report will be used as a thought piece to continue to drive conversations around recognising the efficiency gains we can make with better management of New Zealand’s freshwater.

To read the full report go here: ruralleaders.co.nz/water-resilience

The CPW canal, adjacent to the Rakaia River.

Better outcomes for downstream

The finishing touches have just been made on a project led by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) which aims to prove the performance of constructed wetlands on New Zealand farms.

A further three wetlands have been constructed, completing the suite of six new wetlands built on farms around the country as part of a four-year, $1.95 million project funded by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI).

Instrumentation has been installed to monitor performance of the wetlands, and analysis of flow and water quality data for the first year of operation of the existing three wetlands has been compiled and quality checked.

The project is led by NIWA riparian and wetland scientist Brandon Goeller (Nelson) and principal scientist – aquatic pollution, Chris Tanner (Hamilton). They are supported by NIWA staff from around the country.

NIWA is working with five regional councils – Tasman, Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay, Bay of Plenty and Environment Canterbury –and landowners in each region to design constructed wetlands for each unique environment.

The regional councils have funded the construction of the wetlands and are cofunding and assisting with monitoring.

DairyNZ and Beef+Lamb New Zealand are also partnering with NIWA and the councils to demonstrate the capability of wetlands to their members and networks.

Water quality data gathered from the sites aims to demonstrate the ability of constructed

Above: Brandon Goeller at the Baygold constructed wetland in the Bay of Plenty.

(Photo: Rebekah Parsons-King, NIWA)

water quality

wetlands to reduce losses of nutrients, suspended solids, and faecal microbes from farmland to waterways. The constructed wetlands receive a mixture of surface runoff, ground water, and tile drainage from agricultural catchments.

A standardised monitoring programme has been set up for each wetland. Flows in and out of the wetland are continuously monitored. Flow, turbidity, and nitrate levels (N) are continuously monitored in the inflow and outflow from the wetlands. Grab water samples are collected from the inflow and outflow using automatic samplers over a range of flow conditions assessed for a wider range of contaminants.

Comparisons of water quality in inlet and outlet samples will help researchers quantify the performance of each wetland over twothree years.

Some of the constructed wetlands are at remote locations, so significant investment has been made in equipment for automated and telemetered sampling, to be used alongside regular grab sampling by regional council staff.

Next steps involve calculating the mass loads of contaminants entering and leaving

the wetlands. Comparison of inflow and outflow loads over appropriate periods of time allows mass load reduction and attenuation rates for nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment, and E. coli to be estimated.

Project researchers will work with councils to see how these data sets can be used in tools and models to manage nutrient losses from agricultural land, with the aim of achieving improved water quality outcomes.

The lessons learned from building and managing the wetlands in different farming landscapes will be used to demonstrate to farmers what is involved with constructing wetlands and to help improve practical guidelines and models to support their use to achieve water quality targets.

For more information on this project, please contact Brandon Goeller: brandon.goeller@niwa.co.nz

Above: An aerial view of the Baygold constructed wetland in the Bay of Plenty, showing the kiwifruit orchard in the background.

Opposite page top: This constructed wetland in Tukipo, Central Hawke’s Bay, is one of six built as part of the MPI funded project.

(Photo: Hawke’s Bay Regional Council)

Improving the management of farm dairy effluent

The management of farm dairy effluent is crucial to farm management. The way farmers manage poo is important in many ways. The IrrigationNZ Farm Dairy Effluent Accreditation Programme was introduced ten years ago.

Improvement in this area is difficult to quantify. AgVice founder Debbie Care – who has a PhD in plant science, as well as several other qualifications in technology development, research, and advisory – and Aqualinc Senior Environmental Engineer Neal Borrie, are two of the auditors for this programme. After years of experience in the field they say they have seen management improvements. We caught up with them to talk about the topic of poo.

To find out more about IrrigationNZ’s accreditation programme or find an accredited company follow this link: www.irrigationnz.co.nz/accreditation

Please introduce yourselves and your experience

Neal Borrie, Environmental Engineer with Aqualinc Research Ltd.: I’ve been involved with the design and consenting of “dirty” water projects for 30+ years – projects involving the irrigation of effluent/wastewater onto land for beneficial reuse.

Dr Debbie Care, owner and director of AgVice Research and Advisory: I have been in the effluent field for nearly 20 years from on-farm audits through to full system design, SOP (standard operating procedure) development, and staff training.

What is Farm Dairy Effluent (FDE)?

How does it work? What is the process?

Neal & Debbie: Farm dairy effluent is all the effluent that is collected when cows are on the yard, feed pad, or standoff pad. It can include faeces, urine, and leftover food. It also includes any spilt milk caught on the tanker pad, and in the dairy parlour after cleaning. When applied to land it is a valuable source of organic matter and nutrients, especially potassium (K), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P).

How did FDE management become a part of your roles?

Neal: My specific involvement with FDE started when Aqualinc was contracted by Dairy NZ (DNZ) to prepare the Code of Practice and Design Standards for Farm Dairy Effluent. Following the adoption of these documents by the industry, and the setting up of the FDE design accreditation programme in 2012, it was a natural progression for me to become involved as an assessor – a role that I am still doing, seeking to raise the standard of FDE design and practise.

Debbie: Observing what was not being done well. When I was at DairyNZ one of my roles was to develop tools that could help in the management of effluent. There are several great resources out there to help with this, all with the aim of getting great system design from accredited designers and then maximising the benefits of effluent instead of getting rid of it.

What have you seen most regarding FDE; adoption of technology or changes in behaviour?

Neal: I have observed both the adoption of

Left: Neal Borrie, Environmental Engineer with Aqualinc Research Ltd.; Right: Dr Debbie Care, owner and director of AgVice Research and Advisory.

technology and behaviour changes. These changes have been driven by both dairy processing companies and regional council’s consenting and compliance requirements.

Debbie: Mostly both. Technology is not used as often as it should be. There is no reason every effluent system should not have a failsafe on it, but this is not the case. Some of the implementation of technology has been driven by regional councils and milk supply companies

Where have the greatest changes been in regions/districts? Why?

Neal: In the South Island one of the biggest changes has been with FDE storage ponds: • the installation of adequate/larger storage ponds sized to a standard procedure; and • the lining of these ponds with synthetic liners to prevent seepage of FDE to groundwater.

In addition, there is a growing understanding by farmers that they need to ensure that their FDE system is compliant with regional council consent conditions or permitted activity rules.

Debbie: The greatest change I have seen is with incentivised payment for meeting certain standards in the effluent space. This was the biggest change I saw in a short period within my career. This change has come from milk supply companies, and was noticeable in low pay-out years when everyone was trying to get as much money as they could for their milk solids.

What do you think drives change?

Is it regulations or the business owner’s objectives?

Neal: These changes have been driven by both regulations and in some cases by the business owner’s objectives.

Debbie: See above.

Does the industry see FDE as dealing with a waste product or is it seen as a farm nutrient input?

Neal: The industry is slowly changing here. It was always known that FDE was a source of valuable nutrients and should be treated as a fertiliser, but it has taken some time for farmers and industry to recognise its full potential and give it the respect that it deserves. The industry has come a long way

since the 1970s, when FDE was seen as a waste product and continually spread on the same land area by a stationary sprinkler, which was hardly ever shifted, much to the detriment of the pasture.

Regional councils need to be promoting the use/value of FDE as a resource/fertiliser to be used for beneficial reuse. In many situations the wording used in consents to discharge FDE is “land disposal.” I think that it would be more appropriate to use “application to land.”

Debbie: This is 60/40 with respect to value vs waste. This in part is a generational issue, and a knowledge issue. As regulations get tighter, such as synthetic nitrogen rules, people are going to have to look harder at the nutrients that are already available to them but are not being used. This will drive the better use of the N in FDE as a fertiliser. Top farmers are already aware of the value of effluent as a nutrient source, use it as a fertiliser, and include it in their nutrient manage ment planning.

Has the services sector responded in meeting standards and introducing innovations?

Neal: Yes, the industry has responded to meeting standards and to introducing/ designing innovations. Unfortunately, not all the innovations proposed by industry in designs for farms are being taken up by landowners because of the additional costs.

Debbie: Yes, the industry has responded well to increased standards, but those organisations who could support the accredited parts of the industry seem to have lost a bit of impetus with how the schemes (Accreditation and Warrant of fitness) are promoted and used.

What could the industry do better?

Neal:

1. Promote the role/importance of good management of the farm FDE system. It is not well promoted by the various entities involved.

For example:

• Regular/timely maintenance of the equipment.

• The FDE storage pond level managed to keep it as low as practical so that there is always adequate storage available for when the unexpected occurs, like a breakdown or a high rainfall event.

2. Promote the importance of effluent pond safety. For example:

• A safety fence around the pond with a lockable gate and signage.

• Egress ladders and a perimeter rope with floats.

• Pontoons should be designed so that they are pulled to the shore for conducting any maintenance work rather than installing a walkway to access the pontoon.

3. Promote the use of technology/monitoring equipment to assist with operation/ management of the FDE system.

Debbie: The idea of the accreditation schemes was that it gave those involved in the industry a way of recommending companies that had been through a rigorous process to achieve accreditation. This ensures confidence that the FDE systems designed and installed would meet best practice standards. Regional councils could be promoting this by stipulating for consents and the like that accredited companies must be used. Mostly there is suggestion but no compulsion to use accredited companies.

From a regulatory perspective, training in effluent management and failsafes in effluent systems should have much higher priority than they do at present.

There are many entities involved in FDE, including DNZ, the milk companies, sector bodies, and farm owners. Where do you think the general consumer sees responsibilities lie?

Neal: The responsibilities lie with the farm owners and managers. However, each of the entities mentioned above also have an important role to play so that there is continual improvement.

Debbie: The key responsibilities lie with the farm owner to have fit for purpose infrastructure, and anyone managing that system must do so in a way to prevent any environmental issues. Unfortunately, most often the visibility to the consumer is when something has gone wrong and I think then the perspective is that it is very much an on-farm problem. All of the entities in the FDE space have a role to play in advancing understanding and competency.

Seasonal climate outlook October–December

OUTLOOK SUMMARY

Moderate La Niña conditions continued during Septem ber and a marine heatwave strengthened in Aotearoa New Zealand’s coastal waters. Both are expected to influence the climate over the next three months. Air pressure is forecast to be higher than normal around New Zealand, especially near the South Island and east of the country. This will likely be associated with less frequent westerly winds, more northeasterly winds, and the potential for longer dry spells in western areas.

Rainfall is most likely to be below normal in the west of the South Island, about equally likely to be near normal or above normal in the north and east of the North Island, and about equally likely to be near normal or below normal in all other regions. Occasional subtropical lows are expected, elevating the risk for heavy rain in the north and east of the North Island.

There is an increased risk for early-season tropical cyclone activity in the Southwest Pacific during Novem ber and December, however it is not possible to predict where they might form or track months in advance. The tropical cyclone outlook will be released in October.

Temperatures are very likely to be warmer than average in the North Island and north and west of the South Island, and most likely to be warmer than average in the east of the South Island. October may have variable temperatures before a more marked rise in November and December, along with an increase in humidity.

Coastal sea surface temperatures (SSTs) ranged from 0.6˚C to 1.0˚C above average during September with marine heatwave conditions continuing offshore of many regions. Many climate models show an increase in SST anomalies (difference from average) during the October–December period.

Soil moisture levels and river flows are about equally likely to be near normal or below normal in all regions except the north and east of the North Island, where they may be higher due to more frequent rainfall events.

Probabilities (or percent chances) are assigned in three categories: above average, near average, and below average. In the absence of any forecast guidance there would be an equal likelihood (33 percent chance) of the outcome being in any one of the three categories. Forecast information from local and global guidance models is used to indicate the deviation from equal chance expected for the coming three-month period.

This is an extract of the Seasonal Climate Outlook published by NIWA.

Snow on the Mid Canterbury Plains, early October 2022. (Photo: Sam Anderson)

REGIONAL PREDICTIONS

Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty

• Temperatures are very likely to be above average (70 percent chance). More northeasterly winds and marine heatwave conditions will result in unseason able warmth and humidity at times.

• Rainfall totals are about equally likely to be near normal (40 percent chance) or above normal (35 per cent chance). Sub-tropical low-pressure systems will occasionally track toward the region, such as during the first and third week of October, increasing the risk for heavy rain.

• Conversely, more northeasterly winds could lead to dry spells, particularly in the south-west of the region, such as Waikato.

• Soil moisture levels and river flows are most likely to be near normal (45 percent chance).

Central North Island, Taranaki, Whanganui, Manawatu, Wellington

• Temperatures are very likely to be above average (70 percent chance). More northeasterly winds and marine heatwave conditions will result in unseason able warmth and humidity at times.

• Rainfall totals are about equally likely to be near normal (40 percent chance) or below normal (35 percent chance). Fewer westerly winds will increase the risk for dry spells.

• Soil moisture levels and river flows are about equally likely to be near normal (40 percent chance) or below normal (35 percent chance).

October–December 2022

Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa

• Temperatures are very likely to be above average (65 percent chance). More northeasterly winds may lead to higher humidity levels, more cloud cover, and warmer overnight temperatures. Fewer north westerly winds may limit the number of hot days.

• Rainfall totals are about equally likely to be near normal (40 percent chance) or above normal (35 percent chance). More frequent onshore winds could lead to more wet days. Sub-tropical low pressure systems will occasionally track toward the region, such as during the first and third week of October, increasing the risk for heavy rain, particularly in northern Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne.

• Soil moisture levels and river flows are about equally likely to be near normal or above normal (40–45 percent chance).

Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough, Buller

• Temperatures are very likely to be above average (60 percent chance). More northeasterly winds and marine heatwave conditions will result in unseasonable warmth and humidity at times.

• Rainfall is equally likely to be near normal (40 percent chance) or below normal (40 percent chance). Fewer westerly winds may lead to dry spells, particularly in western parts of the region like Tasman and Buller.

• Soil moisture levels and river flows are about equally likely to be near normal or below normal (40–45 percent chance).

West Coast, Alps and foothills, inland Otago, Southland

• Temperatures are very likely to be above average (65 percent chance). More northeasterly winds and marine heatwave conditions will cause increased sunshine and warmer temperatures.

• Rainfall totals are most likely to be below normal (50 percent chance). More offshore winds will likely result in extended dry spells. Low rainfall may also occur around the hydro lakes. However, occasional heavy rainfall events may still occur, such as in the second week of October.

• Soil moisture levels and river flows are about equally likely to be near normal (45 percent chance) or below normal (50 percent chance).

Coastal Canterbury, east Otago

• Temperatures are most likely to be above average (55 percent chance). Fewer northwesterly winds may lead to fewer hot days, although more frequent northeasterly winds may contribute to more cloud cover and warmer overnight temperatures.

• Rainfall totals are about equally likely to be near nor mal (40 percent chance) or below normal (35 percent chance). Frequent anticyclones may contribute to longer dry spells, although these may be interspersed with occasional sub-tropical lows that bring rain from the north, particularly for North Canterbury.

• Soil moisture levels and river flows are about equally likely to be near normal (45 percent chance) or below normal (40 percent chance).

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