Experience
Our experience
Our hydrogeology specialists bring established field methodology together with modern modelling tools to answer water resource questions at a catchment and project scale. We work on stream-aquifer interaction, recharge quantification, aquifer characterisation and groundwater modelling, and we use GIS and database platforms to manage and present data in ways that consenting authorities and asset owners can use.
Managed aquifer recharge
Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) and aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) are areas we have invested in heavily over the last fifteen to twenty years, and we have contributed to a large number of major MAR developments across our project portfolio. That depth of experience carries through into how we scope feasibility, monitoring and consenting work today.
Capability areas
We offer a rounded hydrogeology service so clients can come to us for a single piece of the puzzle or the full workflow.
Numerical groundwater modelling
Feasibility studies and options assessments
Regulatory approvals and consenting support
Monitoring programmes and data review
Managed aquifer recharge and aquifer storage and recovery
Bore design and water supply development
Water resource planning
Aquifer testing and analysis
Integrated catchment management
Groundwater experience
Our groundwater work covers a broad technical range, from numerical modelling of aquifers through to the testing of individual wells for consent applications. We support government, private and industry clients through the increasingly complex task of managing groundwater resources under climate and allocation pressures, and we ground our advice in field data rather than desktop assumption.
Groundwater capability areas
We offer a rounded groundwater service so clients can draw on a single piece of the workflow or the full stack.
Numerical aquifer modelling
Well and bore testing
Water take consent applications and compliance monitoring
Groundwater quality assessment
Stream depletion and surface-groundwater interaction studies
Resource allocation advice and expert evidence
Consenting and hearings
A large share of our groundwater work is consenting-related, and we are regularly engaged to provide expert evidence for resource consent hearings. Our hydrogeologists present technical findings clearly and defensibly, whether the forum is a council hearing, an Environment Court appeal or a collaborative planning process.
Managed Aquifer Recharge experience
Over the past thirty years our water team has consented and installed more than 75 groundwater replenishment schemes using managed aquifer recharge (MAR) internationally, and we carry that depth of experience directly into our New Zealand work. We treat MAR as a practical tool for responding to climate-driven pressure on groundwater, rather than as an experimental technology.
New Zealand track record
Our New Zealand presence is substantial and still growing.
More than 18 designed and consented MAR sites in New Zealand
Led development of New Zealand's first Aquifer Storage Transfer and Recovery bore in Gisborne
Numerical modelling capability across Australasia
In-house hydrogeology, geochemistry, civil engineering and community engagement
Working relationships with specialists in planning, freshwater ecology and wetland design
Why managed aquifer recharge matters
Replenishing groundwater storage is one of the clearest practical tools available for responding to climate change impacts on water resources. MAR lets regions use surplus flow when it is available to rebuild aquifer storage for use when it isn't, and done well it also supports stream base flows and dependent ecosystems.
Integrated Catchment Management experience
Managing water at scale needs a systems view rather than a project-by-project one. Our team assesses groundwater and surface water interactions for resource management, and we build numerical modelling tools that feed directly into the policies, rules and strategies that sit above New Zealand's water management system.
Integrated Catchment Management capability areas
We work across the full integrated catchment and water management (ICWM) workflow, from technical investigation through to strategy.
Groundwater and surface water interaction assessment
Numerical model development for catchment-scale questions
Water quality and allocation policy support
Regional and unitary plan inputs
Strategy and rule development
Stakeholder and iwi engagement support
Working collaboratively
The most durable water management outcomes we have seen come from collaborative processes with councils, iwi, industry and community groups. We work to that model, delivering technical inputs that are accessible enough for non-technical participants to engage with while remaining defensible at a science-panel level.
Common questions about hydrogeology and groundwater
What does your hydrogeology team do?
Hydrogeology here means hydrogeological investigation, aquifer modelling and groundwater management, including managed aquifer recharge and resource consenting. Our specialists work on stream-aquifer interaction, recharge quantification, aquifer characterisation and groundwater modelling, and use GIS and database platforms to present data in ways consenting authorities and asset owners can use.
Can you support a water take consent application?
Yes. A large share of our groundwater work is consenting-related, from well and bore testing and compliance monitoring through to expert evidence at hearings. Our hydrogeologists present technical findings clearly and defensibly, whether the forum is a council hearing, an Environment Court appeal or a collaborative planning process.
What is managed aquifer recharge and when is it used?
Managed aquifer recharge lets a region use surplus flow when it is available to rebuild aquifer storage for use when it is not, and done well it also supports stream base flows and dependent ecosystems. We treat it as a practical tool for responding to climate-driven pressure on groundwater rather than as an experimental technology.
What is your New Zealand track record in groundwater?
We have designed and consented managed aquifer recharge sites in New Zealand and led development of the country’s first Aquifer Storage Transfer and Recovery bore in Gisborne. Numerical modelling capability runs across Australasia, with in-house hydrogeology, geochemistry, civil engineering and community engagement, and working relationships with specialists in planning, freshwater ecology and wetland design.
Do you model groundwater at catchment scale?
Yes. We assess groundwater and surface water interactions for resource management and build numerical modelling tools that feed directly into the policies, rules and strategies sitting above New Zealand’s water management system. That covers water quality and allocation policy support, regional and unitary plan inputs, and strategy and rule development.
Which groundwater projects have you worked on in New Zealand?
Published work includes the Tāpora Flats groundwater model in Auckland, groundwater management for the Poverty Bay Flats in Tairāwhiti, the Ōmokaroa geothermal take and discharge in the Bay of Plenty, the Tauhei quarry hydrogeological assessment in Waikato, water permits for kiwifruit orchards, and the Hinds and Hekeao groundwater replenishment programme in Canterbury.
