 It's a balance - we want to continue developing our agricultural potential and rural economy, and we need lots of high quality contaminant-free water for drinking and for our land. Managing the balance IRAP - Integrated Research for Aquifer Protection - is a collaborative research project to understand the big picture of water quality - from the plant to the aquifer. Crop & Food Research, AgResearch, Dexcel, Landcare Research, ESR, Lincoln Environmental, Aqualinc and Environment Canterbury are behind the Integrated Research for Aquifer Protection (IRAP) project. Environment Waikato, Environment Southland, Selwyn District Council, MAF, MfE, Foundation for Arable Research, HortNZ, Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu, and Federated Farmers are all involved in an end-user advisory group to ensure that the research remains relevant, delivers appropriate tools, and to facilitate rapid uptake of research results and tools. Working together they aim to answer these key questions: - What impact will land use changes have on the quality of groundwater available in the future?
- How do nutrients move through the soil to the aquifer and then through the aquifer system? Will using best practice farm management techniques be enough to maintain acceptable groundwater quality?
IRAP is a result of growing concern amongst the public and policy makers that the intensification of land use may cause a deterioration in groundwater quality. The IRAP group will look at how nitrates from different land uses move through to groundwater, and develop computer tools to manage it at the paddock, farm, catchment and regional levels through New Zealand. More details on the tools being developed are available on the IRAP Tools page. |