Why we should care about groundwater

Why should we care about groundwater?

Forty percent of people in New Zealand rely on groundwater for drinking, yet that water is vulnerable to contamination.

While our rivers and the state of their health are regarded taonga, little attention is given to the groundwater that sustains the flows in most of our rivers and streams.

"We only remember the water is there when something goes wrong. The health of our surface waters can be directly linked to the quality of groundwater resources. Yet our groundwater resources, like some of our rivers, are under stress. The pollution is widespread and difficult to treat," says Murray Close, Principal Scientist at ESR.

To address these issues, groundwater researchers from Lincoln Agritech, ESR, GNS Science and Aqualinc are working together to understand how landuse impacts our water quality.

To read more about the group's research projects, click here to download the latest newsletter.