Connect with water experts

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Experts and web conferences

Meet Fionna: Environmental manager

Meet Elizabeth: CEO of Irrigation NZ

Meet John, Councillor and farmer

Web Conference 1

The following questions from schools are answered by Fiona, Elizabeth and John

1. What are the reasons for our waterways being polluted and how is this being fixed?
2. How big of a problem are poisonous algae and is it possible to get rid of them altogether?
3. Is there a way to turn sea water into fresh water and make it usable for farming?
4. What happens to all our waste water, do we reuse it?
5. How much do our actions impact the environment and how can we clean the water that has been impacted?
6. How can we help keep our water clean?
7. What happens when the groundwater runs out?
8. Is plastic pollution a problem in our fresh waterways like it is in the ocean?
9. Has there always been water on Earth? If not, where did it come from?
10. Can NZ's waterways/environment sustain the irrigation that's needed to support our farming industry?

Meet Damon : Farmer

Web conference 2

The following questions from schools are answered by Damon:

1. What does water have to do with our Turangawaewae?
2. How is water made?
3. Why do some countries have more water than others?
4. Why do we depend on water? Why do we need it?
5. How does water become salty?
6. How long can we live without water?
7. How much water do farmers need to use?
8. How can we locate groundwater?
9. Can fossil water evaporate?
10. How much of a problem is glyphosate in run-off water?

Meet Steve: Irrigation engineer

Web conference 3

The following questions from schools are answered by Steve:

1. Could the storage ponds fill up with sediment from the Waimakariri River, especially after a flood? 
2. When did irrigation start becoming popular? - Ryan
3. How reliable is the electronics that control irrigators. Are there many maintenance issues?
4. Does Canterbury farming produce anything, that relies on irrigation, that is grown nowhere else in NZ and is important to world food supply?
5. Do you use filters in irrigation? Jasmine
6. Has New Zealand used flood irrigation? Hannah
7. Why is Canterbury more irrigated than anywhere else in NZ?
8. Why do places like the Waikato not have much irrigation?
9. Are there new careers in water that were not around 10 or 20 years ago?