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Giant hoop under helicopter to safeguard Hawke's Bay water supply

New technology in the form of a giant hoop carried by a helicopter, known as Sky TEM, could be the answer to understanding Hawke’s Bay’s water woes. The 3D technology is a first for the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) and is set to get underway this month.

“This technology works by inducing an electromagnetic field from a big hoop that is slung under a helicopter and that electromagnetic field induces a current into the ground,” Jeff Smith, manager science, HBRC says.

The technology is like taking a big x-ray of the ground and collecting valuable information on the aquifers, something the region has never had access to before.

“Managing the quantity of water that is used, we can only take so much there are limits, and we need to set those limits very carefully. And also the quality of the groundwater and understanding the nature of the groundwater system allows us to understand the risk of contamination.”

This will help avoid serious contamination catastrophes, like what happened in the Havelock North gastro outbreak that affected 5,000 people in 2016 and caused the deaths of four people.

“Nearly every ratepayer in the region relies on groundwater for their drinking water supplies. Napier-Hastings, all their water comes from the groundwater. So to manage that effectively, we need to know what’s going on in the ground,” Smith says.

It is a $4.3 million project with helicopter flights set to start on 20 January right through to March.

Report by Aroha Treacher for Te Ao.

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