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Groundwater resource characterisation in the Waikato River catchment for Healthy Rivers project

TR 2018/33
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Report: TR 2018/33

Author: P.A White, C Tschritter, Z Rawlinson, M Moreau, K Dewes, S Edbrooke (GNS Science) 

About this report

This report was commissioned by the Technical Leaders Group for the Healthy Rivers Wai Ora Project Report No. HR/TLG/2015-2016/1.2

This report describes the models of geology and water budgets that were developed by GNS Science and were used, with groundwater chemistry data, to characterise the HRP groundwater systems.

Read or download the report

Groundwater resource characterisation in the Waikato River catchment for Healthy Rivers project [PDF, 12 MB]

Contents
1 Introduction
2 Review of the geologyof the Waikato river catchment
2.1 Geological History And Structure
2.1.1 Lower-Middle Waikato and Waipa
2.1.2 Flow confirmation survey
2.2 Geological Formations And Properties
2.2.1 Tauranga Group
2.2.2 Oruanui Formation
2.2.3 Earthquake Flat Formation
2.2.4 Upper Waikato Lake sediments
2.2.5 Maroa Group Ignimbrites
2.2.6 Rhyolite Lava Domes
2.2.7 Kaingaroa Formation
2.2.8 Ohakuri Caldera Deposits
2.2.9 Mamaku Plateau Formation
2.2.10 Kapenga Caldera Deposits
2.2.11 Eastern Volcanic Cones
2.2.12 Whakamaru Group
2.2.13 Pakaumanu Group
2.2.14 Western UW Volcanic Cones
2.2.15 Alexandra Group Volcanics
2.2.16 Kerikeri Volcanics
2.2.17 Kaawa Formation
2.2.18 Miocene Sediments
2.2.19 Te Kuiti Group
2.2.20 Basement
3 Methods
3.1 Geological Models
3.1.1 LMW Geological Model
3.1.1.1 Theory
3.1.1.2 Data sources
Topographic data
Geological maps
Cross-sections
Bore log data
Other data sources
Grouping of formations
Model unit surface development
3.1.1.5 HRP template: Geological Properties
3.2 Water Budget And Groundwater Flows
3.2.1 Rainfall and evapotranspiration
3.2.2 Surface water flows
3.2.3 Surface water flow: base flow and quick flow
3.2.4 Water use
3.2.5 Water budgets
3.2.6 HRP Template: Water budgets
3.3 Piezometric Maps
3.4 Groundwater Chemistry
3.4.1 Trend analysis
3.4.2 HRP Template: Groundwater Chemistry
3.5 Gap Analysis
4 Results
4.1 Upper Waikato
4.1.1 Geology
4.1.2 Water budget
4.1.3 Piezometric Levels
4.1.4 Groundwater Chemistry
4.2 Waipa
4.2.1 Geology
4.2.2 Water budget
4.2.3 Piezometric Levels
4.2.4 Groundwater Chemistry
4.3 Lower Middle Waikato
4.3.1 Geology
4.3.2 Water budget
4.3.3 Piezometric Levels
4.3.4 Groundwater Chemistry
5 Gap analysis
6 Recommendations
7 Summary
8 Acknowledgements
9 References