7.0 Economic Value of Groundwater Aquifers
7.1 Domestic
The estimated economic value of the Christchurch-West Melton system is the largest of aquifers, at around $60 million/year (Table 25). The Heretaunga Plains, at around $20 million/year, is second largest. Estimated economic values in all the aquifer systems (the aquifers with the 100-largest economic value are listed in Appendix 13) sum to around $199 million/year.
Table 25: Groundwater Aquifers and Domestic Usewater - Estimated Annual Allocation and Economic Value for the 20 Aquifers of the Largest Value| GNS aquifer | Council | Total of weekly allocation
(m³/week) | Domestic water Economic value
$million/yr |
| Christchurch-West Melton | CRC | 3374255 | 60 |
| Heretaunga Plains | HBRC | 1100792 | 20 |
| Hutt | WRC | 963011 | 17 |
| Ashley Downs | CRC | 493311 | 9 |
| Central Plains | CRC | 418127 | 8 |
| Auckland volcanics | ARC | 422921 | 7 |
| Rangitata-Levels plains | CRC | 342138 | 7 |
| Central Otago | ORC | 343769 | 6 |
| Manawatu | HMW | 342377 | 6 |
| Lower Taieri Plain - East and West | ORC | 300923 | 6 |
| Upper Wairau Valley | MDC | 280784 | 5 |
| Mamaku Plateau | EBOP | 260624 | 5 |
| Rakaia-Ashburton plains | CRC | 249901 | 4 |
| Coromandel volcanic | EW | 228543 | 4 |
| Wanganui | HMW | 186039 | 3 |
| Upper Confined | TDC | 185803 | 3 |
| Whakamuru Ignimbrites | EW | 169134 | 3 |
| Rangitaiki Plains (assumes shallow system) | EBOP | 129682 | 3 |
| Raumati-Paekakariki | WRC | 121390 | 2 |
| Coastal aquifers | SRC | 114171 | 2 |
7.2 Industry
Use of groundwater aquifers by industry has the largest economic value in the Christchurch-West Melton aquifer system (Table 26). Estimated economic values in all the aquifer systems (the aquifers with the 100-largest economic value are listed in Appendix 14) sum to $11419 million/year.
A considerable portion of the estimated economic value of groundwater use by industry is associated water supply from municipal supplies. For example, in the Christchurch/West Melton system an estimated $1298 million/year of economic value (of a total of $2328 million/year) comes from estimated use of municipal supply by industrial users. The second-largest aquifer of economic value for industry is the Heretaunga Plains, with an estimated water value of approximately $1079million/year.
Table 26: Groundwater Aquifers Use by Industry - Estimated Annual Allocation and Economic Value for the 20 Aquifers of the Largest Value| Rank | GNS aquifer name | Council | Allocation to industry and industrial part of mun1 (m³/wk) | Economic value industrial allocation only $million/yr | Economic value industrial part of mun1 only $million/yr | Economic value total $million/yr |
| 1 | Christchurch-West Melton | CRC | 4102439 | 1030.4 | 1297.7 | 2328.1 |
| 2 | Heretaunga Plains | HBRC | 2126258 | 646.5 | 432.2 | 1078.7 |
| 3 | Upper Wairau Valley | MDC | 750590 | 705.5 | 107.9 | 813.4 |
| 4 | Central Plains | CRC | 686285 | 622.4 | 110.2 | 732.6 |
| 5 | Hutt | WRC | 1064797 | 179.1 | 385.4 | 564.5 |
| 6 | Coromandel volcanic | EW | 597989 | 365.8 | 86.9 | 452.7 |
| 7 | Tauranga Group sediments | EW | 264845 | 374.1 | 28.6 | 402.7 |
| 8 | Manawatu | HMW | 617939 | 211.3 | 134.3 | 345.6 |
| 9 | Hinuera Formation | EW | 149359 | 307.5 | 0.5 | 308 |
| 10 | Rangitata-Levels plains | CRC | 553046 | 167.8 | 126.9 | 294.7 |
| 11 | Auckland volcanics | ARC | 538876 | 105.4 | 169.3 | 274.7 |
| 12 | Rakaia-Ashburton plains | CRC | 527073 | 176.1 | 94.2 | 270.3 |
| 13 | NULLaquifer | ORC | 175018 | 250.9 | 1.1 | 252 |
| 14 | Ashley Downs | CRC | 439399 | 88.6 | 141.2 | 229.8 |
| 15 | Lower Waikato Groundwater | EW | 229180 | 200.5 | 7.8 | 208.3 |
| 16 | Whakamuru Ignimbrites | EW | 226478 | 98.5 | 66.3 | 164.8 |
| 17 | Wanganui | HMW | 273497 | 59 | 73.7 | 132.7 |
| 18 | Grey River | WCRC | 138569 | 132.6 | 0 | 132.6 |
| 19 | Jacobs River | WCRC | 90720 | 100.2 | 31.9 | 132.1 |
| 20 | Hamilton Basin Groundwater | EW | 136528 | 130.6 | 0 | 130.6 |
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