Friday 20 January

Crop survey provides water data

Council’s annual summer crop survey is underway again this month. Council environmental monitoring staff are identifying summer crops grown across the region to assist in forecasting the demand for water for irrigation purposes.

The survey provides crucial information to assist monitoring and forecasting demand for water throughout the region.

“Special attention will be payed to water intensive crops like kiwifruit, squash, pip and stone fruit, as these increase the demand for water resources,” says shared services science manager Dennis Crone.

“Kiwifruit in particular is the most water intensive crop grown on the Poverty Bay Flats. There has been a steady increase in kiwifruit on the Poverty Bay Flats – since 2007 kiwifruit has grown from 300 hectares to over 500 hectares.”

Staff will make site visits to map crop types and land use information which will be compared with trends from previous years.

The surveys are carried out from the roadside by recording crop types and land area onto maps. The results will detail what is being grown and how this is changing.

The Poverty Bay Flats have also seen a decrease in less water intensive crops such as grapes. Grapes have declined from 2300 hectares to less than 1850 hectares.

Pasture, maize and sweetcorn make up a significant portion of our cropping region (27.7%), covering a total area of 6,564.21 hectares.

The survey will be completed by the end of January, and will cover the Poverty Bay Flats, Motu, Muriwai, Matawai as well as Tolaga Bay, Ruatoria, Tikitiki and Te Araroa.

Mayor Meng Foon says its important information to gather that enables Councillors to make the best policy decisions for the benefit of the district going into the future.
For more information on past crop surveys visit www.gdc.govt.nz/crop-surveys or call 06 867 2049 to speak with the Water and Coastal Resources Team.

ENDS

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