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Marlborough region

Water Quantity

Water is critical for the life-supporting capacity of our ecosystems, while the availability of water resources has also played a critical role in the development of Marlborough. Water is used to irrigate crops (primarily grapes) and in industrial processes such as winemaking and mussel processing. Farmers pump water for stock and domestic water supplies, and water is reticulated by the Council and community schemes for domestic/municipal supply. Water is also used to generate electricity in the region. Marlborough's rivers and aquifers: Surface water refers to rivers, lakes and other waterways above the ground. Groundwater is water moving through gravel or rocks underground. Useful amounts of groundwater are called aquifers and can be accessed by drilling a well and pumping the water up. Aquifers are the natural storage component of catchments that are recharged by rainfall and/or river flow. Like rivers, they can become depleted if there’s not enough rainfall or too much water is abstracted. Aquifers also serve an important purpose during dry periods by sustaining wetlands and river flows.

 

The Marlborough District covers about 10,500 km2 with a diverse range of climate, geology and topography. Rainfall varies from about 600 mm a year on the East Coast to more than 2600 mm in some parts of northern Marlborough. Our three largest rivers are the Pelorus, Wairau and the Awatere. Each has a significant catchment reaching to the western boundary of the district with a lot of their flow coming from rain in the north-west of the Richmond Ranges and other alpine areas. Because of this, these rivers tend to have more reliable flows than smaller waterways elsewhere in Marlborough where less rain falls. Some coastal areas struggle with seasonal water shortages, mainly because of high evapo-transpiration. Marlborough’s largest river is the Wairau, which runs for 170 km and has a catchment of 4187 km2. In the lower reaches it feeds the main alluvial aquifers of the Wairau Plains. These aquifers provide water storage, supporting our water use and sustaining the baseflows for many of the small streams and springs that our flora and fauna depend on. Allocating rights to use resources (water) in public ownership is fundamental to Marlborough’s environmental, social, and economic wellbeing. For example, the vibrant viticulture industry in Marlborough contributes significantly to the local economy, and relies on access to freshwater from rivers and aquifers. The Marlborough Environment Plan (MEP) sets out a sustainable allocation framework by setting safe limits on water resources. As of mid 2024 there are approximately 1500 active consents to take water. Many of our aquifers and rivers are fully allocated and in some cases over-allocated on paper. The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management requires existing over-allocation to be phased out and future over-allocation to be avoided. The Marlborough Environment Plan contains objectives and policies to phase out current over-allocation of water resources.

 

Monitoring 
The Marlborough District Council  has a comprehensive environmental monitoring network to monitor water consents, environmental changes and the effects of human-based activities. It tracks:

  • Real-time rainfall at 27 sites
  • Continuous river level at 33 sites
  • Continuous river flow at 17 sites
  • Continuous groundwater level at 31 sites

Council also processes up to 500 manual measurements of river flow every year. This environmental data is available on the Council website www.marlborough.govt.nz

Marlborough's rivers and aquifers

 Surface water refers to rivers, lakes and other waterways above the ground. Ground water is underground, seeping slowly through gravel or rocks. Useful amounts of ground water are called aquifers and can be accessed by drilling a well and pumping the water up.  Aquifers are like natural storage tanks that are recharged by rain or river flow. Like rivers, they go down if there’s not enough rain or too much water is drawn off. 

Regional Summary
Water quantity data in this region

Regional councils collect information about how much water is available and manage resource consents for those wishing to take water from rivers or groundwater supplies. Use the buttons below to view regional information on: how much water is available, where it comes from and how its used.

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Rainfall {{waterAvailable.rainfall}} Runoff to sea {{waterAvailable.runoff}} Groundwater available: {{waterSource.groundwater}}
{{waterSource.groundwaterPercentAvailable}}% of total available Surface Water available: {{waterSource.surfacewater}}
{{waterSource.surfacewaterPercentAvailable}}% of total available Irrigation
{{waterUsage.irrigationLabel}} Industrial
{{waterUsage.industrialLabel}} Stock
{{waterUsage.stockLabel}} Hydroelectrical
{{waterUsage.hydroLabel}} Town supply
{{waterUsage.drinkingLabel}}
  • How much water is there in this region?

    Rainfall and runoff in this region

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    Rainfall and runoff

    Relative Volume Source Volume
    Rainfall total:
    {{waterAvailable.rainfall }}
         		rainfall Rainfall Total {{waterAvailable.rainfall}}
    Runoff total:
    {{waterAvailable.runoff }}
         		runoff Runoff to sea {{waterAvailable.runoff}}

    The table above shows the average amount of rainfall the region receives each year and how much of that flows out to sea. These are approximate figures only.

  • Water consents: where does water come from?

    The split between surface water and groundwater

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    Consented water by source

    Relative volumes
    Amount available to consent Surface water:
    {{waterSource.surfacewater}}
    available to consent         Groundwater:
    {{waterSource.groundwater}}
    available to consent
    Volume consented Surface water:
    {{surfaceWaterConsented()}}
    volume consented         Groundwater:
    {{groundwaterConsented()}}
    volume consented
    Source Amount available to consent Volume consented Consented as a percentage of available
    surface water ground water {{item.source}} {{item.amountAvailable}} {{item.volumeConsented}} {{item.percentageConsented}}
    {{waterSource.total.source}} {{waterSource.total.amountAvailable}} {{waterSource.total.volumeConsented}} {{waterSource.total.percentageConsented}}

    The table above shows how much water is available to use compared with the amount that is actually consented for use. It also shows how much of this water is surface water and how much is groundwater.

    The table above shows how much water is available to use compared with the amount that is actually consented for use as at July 2024. It also shows how much of this water is surface water and how much is groundwater.
    These region totals only include freshwater management units that have allocation limits defined.
  • Water consents: How is water used?

    Consents by use in this region

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    Annual consented water use by type

    Overall annual volume for {{waterAvailable.year}}
    Relative breakdown
    Activity Percentage of total consented Total volume Number of consents
    {{item.displayText}} {{item.displayText}} - - No data available {{item.breakdownPercentage}}% {{item.totalVolume}} {{item.numberOfConsents}}
    Total {{waterUsage.total.percentageConsented}}% {{waterUsage.total.totalVolume}} {{waterUsage.total.numberOfConsents}}

    The above table shows the proportion of water consented for irrigation, industrial, stock, town supply and other. It excludes hydro electricity. In this region/management zone {{hydroUsage.totalVolume}}/year is consented for hydro-electricity and makes up {{hydroUsage.percentageConsented}}% of the total water volume consented for this region/management zone

    The above table shows the proportion of water consented for irrigation, industrial, stock commercial, town supply and other as at July 2024.
    It excludes permitted activity water takes, such as stock water, individual domestic takes, and incidental farming use .
    The town supply activity total includes council operated schemes in both urban and rural settings as well as private communal rural schemes.

 Surface Water Zones
Surface Water zones in the Marlborough region

Select the water management zone you'd like to see information on by clicking the buttons below or navigate using the map.

Awatere River

1 Site
Clarence River

0 Sites
East Coast Rivers

2 Sites
Marlborough Sounds

2 Sites
Opaoa River

7 Sites
Te Hoiere/Pelorus River

3 Sites
Wairau River

13 Sites
Rarangi

1 Site
Groundwater Zones
Groundwater management zones in the Marlborough region

Select the groundwater management zone you'd like to see information on by clicking the buttons below or navigate using the map.

Benmorven

2 Sites
Brancott

3 Sites
Cullensville

0 Sites
Linkwater

0 Sites
Lower Waihopai

0 Sites
Needles / Tachalls

1 Site
Omaka

2 Sites
Omaka River

3 Sites
Rarangi

5 Sites
Riverlands

2 Sites
Taylor

2 Sites
Wairau

5 Sites

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