New Zealand in unique position for ‘water development’

New Zealand has many advantages over the rest of the world when it comes to ‘water development’ but we need to get better at leveraging water use – for our future well-being and to protect us from the effects of climate change, says IrrigationNZ CEO Andrew Curtis.

This week is World Water Week 2015 with a theme of ‘Water for Development’. More than 3000 people, including world leaders, water experts and international aid organisations, have gathered in Stockholm, Sweden to debate solutions for water crisis around the globe at an annual symposium run by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) (www.worldwaterweek.org.nz).

Mr Curtis says New Zealanders are blissfully unaware of the relative advantage New Zealand has with plentiful rivers, lakes and groundwater supply across the country.

“Many other countries would love to have such abundant, comparatively clean and geographically dispersed water sources. On top of this we have ample rainfall. Worldwide rainfall (precipitation) averages 800mm per year. But New Zealand experiences 2.5 times that amount with average rainfall of 2000mm per year. By other nation’s accounts, we are water rich!”

Additionally, New Zealand’s water concerns are less complex than those faced in other continents.

“Yes we have pressing issues around nutrient management and allocation of water, but from a global perspective our water challenges are manageable and we are already working on the solutions. Those gathering in Stockholm are looking at issues as diverse as how best to safely recycle water, how to get water to people living in war-zones and ways to develop water infrastructure in developing countries. Yes we have regular drought and climate change breathing down our neck, but if we step back and look at what others are dealing with in terms of developing water, we should realise how lucky we are.”

From IrrigationNZ’s perspective, water development in New Zealand will only come about if we have sustainable investment and support for water storage infrastructure, hand in hand with SMART Irrigation practices, products and technologies.

“We need to improve our water productivity; that is what we create from the water we tap into. Irrigated farmland generates three times as much production as dryland systems so it’s a win-win for the community and farmers if we can convert a majority of farmers to SMART Irrigation.

The way forward will be about storing water on a regional basis to increase water security for users, alongside improved irrigation practice in the paddock. IrrigationNZ launched the SMART Irrigation programme last year and our focus now is mainstreaming this approach. This year’s World Water Week theme of ‘Water for Development’ is an opportunity to reflect on what we’ve already achieved and how much further we could go with additional improvements in SMART Irrigation practice, technology and systems. ”

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