Lower Hutt Aquifer Model Revision (HAM3): Sustainable Management Of The Waiwhetu Aquifer
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The groundwater resource of the Lower Hutt Valley provides up to about 40% of the water supply for the greater Wellington Metropolitan area. Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) is responsible for bulk water supply and is required to sustainably manage the Lower Hutt groundwater resource to ensure a secure and continuous water supply. This responsibility necessitated the construction of an updated numerical groundwater flow model for the Lower Hutt aquifer system. The Hutt Aquifer Model 3 (HAM3) represents an evolution of previous models in response to the need for a more accurate simulation.
The following objectives were included in the HAM3 project to make use of the improved model confidence:
Review of the sustainable yield of the Waiwhetu Artesian Aquifer, including saline intrusion risk;
Development of a revised saline intrusion risk management framework;
Development of an abstraction operational tool for assessing the yield of the aquifer and forecasting resource availability during periods of climatic stress;
Assessment of the potential effects of sea level rise (or land subsidence as a result of seismic activity) on water supply security from Waiwhetu Aquifer.
The following objectives were included in the HAM3 project to make use of the improved model confidence:
Review of the sustainable yield of the Waiwhetu Artesian Aquifer, including saline intrusion risk;
Development of a revised saline intrusion risk management framework;
Development of an abstraction operational tool for assessing the yield of the aquifer and forecasting resource availability during periods of climatic stress;
Assessment of the potential effects of sea level rise (or land subsidence as a result of seismic activity) on water supply security from Waiwhetu Aquifer.