The Wairau Aquifer is the largest of the aquifers beneath
the Wairau Plain supplying most of the water used for municipal, irrigation,
domestic and winery washdown purposes. Wairau Aquifer levels have been
declining since at least 1973 due to falling rates of recharge based on
investigations between 2018 and 2024 as part of the national gravel bed rivers
project. The Wairau Aquifer allocation limit in the Marlborough Environment
Plan is also being reviewed based on this recent research and the availability of
more comprehensive metered groundwater use data. To provide water users, MDC
staff, and the public with a measure of how full the Wairau Aquifer is at any
particular time; MDC commissioned the development of a tool which displays the
percentage storage for the previous day. It’s intended as a learning tool first
and foremost to get people used to the seasonal range in Wairau Aquifer storage
and has no regulatory implications at this stage.
This tool is updated overnight and reflects storage for the previous day.
