Welcome to Catchment Solutions!

The Catchment Solutions Project aims to enhance rural capability and capacity to help achieve improved freshwater quality outcomes in rural catchments across New Zealand.

We take a collaborative and co-learning approach; catchment communities, including iwi/hapu perspectives, working together with land and water scientists and advisors to identify key water quality contaminants and their critical flow pathways, and design and demonstrate targeted and effective edge-of-field water quality mitigation practices.

By focusing on the identification and management of critical flow pathways, we collectively enhance our capacity to reduce losses of contaminants from agricultural lands to receiving waters.

FRESHWATER QUALITY

Discover the importance of freshwater quality in your local landscape and environment. Learn about effective ways to diagnose stream health and identify potential contaminant losses from the land.

Coming soon

CASE STUDY CATCHMENTS

Key to the project is co-learning and collaboration with farmers, hapu/iwi, Regional Councils, industry and rural professionals. Learn about our contrasting case study catchments which facilitate the evaluation of various edge-of-field mitigation structures.

HAYNES CREEK CATCHMENT

Meet the folk in the Haynes Creek Catchment to find out more about what contaminant issues they are facing, and what edge-of-field mitigation technologies they are trialing

MANGAONE CATCHMENT

Meet the folk in the Mangaone Catchment to find out more about how they are mitigating contaminant issues in their catchment area.

MAHARAKEKE-PŌRANGAHAU

Meet the folk in the Maharakeke-Pōrangahau Catchment to find out more about how they are mitigating contaminant issues in their catchment area.

LAKE WHATUMĀ CATCHMENT

Meet the folk in the Lake Whatumā Catchment to find out more about what contaminant issues they are facing, and what edge-of-field mitigation technologies they are trialing

WAINGONGORO CATCHMENT

Meet the folk in the Waingongoro Catchment to find out more about what contaminant issues they are facing, and what edge-of-field mitigation technologies they are trialing

VIRTUAL TOURS

Take a virtual tour of our pilot demonstrations of innovative edge-of-field water quality mitigation practices. Learn about their suitability, design construction, operation, and performance in different farming environments.

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FIELD DAYS & WORKSHOPS

We run field days and workshops for those interested in edge-of-field mitigation practices. Learn from Massey researchers and industry specialists, and see how these practices work in different environments

2023 FIELD DAY & WORKSHOP

This was our first combined workshop and field day. Around 60 people came to Massey University’s (Palmerston North) campus for the morning workshop, then to Dairy Number 4 in the afternoon for the field component.

2024 FIELD DAY & WORKSHOP

Read about our second annual workshop and field day to find out more about novel edge-of-field mitigation technologies to mitigate the effects of contaminant runoff in waterways.

MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES

Thinking about your Farm Freshwater plan? Explore innovative water quality mitigation practices offering targeted and effective solutions for reduction in contaminants losses, enhance water quality and promote sustainable ecosystems for a healthier environment.

CONTROLLED DRAINAGE

This technology aims to design and implement flexibility in operation of artificial constructed surface & sub-surface drainage systems.

BIOREACTORS

Woodchip bioreactors harness natural biodegradation processes to create an environment where soil microorganisms effectively break down nitrate in drainage waters.

CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS

Constructed wetlands slow the flow of drainage and/or runoff water. During the slowing of the water, contaminants are removed by the plants growing in the wetland before being released back into the waterway.

DETAINMENT BUNDS

A Detainment Bund PS120© is a special type of sediment trap to temporarily detain stormwater runoff from pasture lands. It intercepts stormwater run-off by briefly ponding it on pasture to reduce significant amounts of sediment, phosphorus, and pathogens.