The management of New Zealand’s water resources is currently facing some significant pressures.  These include:

• Urban growth and its associated increase in water demand and stormwater management
• Intensive farming practices and the consequent water demands and effluent disposal
• Greater environmental awareness and the desire to protect the special environment we live in
• A possible increase in extreme droughts and floods due to climate change events, causing re-evaluation of design criteria
• Increased need for water infrastructure including water and wastewater treatment plants, stormwater reticulation, flood and drainage schemes and hydroelectric schemes.

Opus has the specialist skills to help manage these pressures, from policy development and catchment management planning to water infrastructure design and implementation.

Opus is a leader in water resource management.  Opus’ capability, experience and specialist, expert personnel (including rural and urban water resource management) makes us the consultant of choice.

Managing New Zealand’s water resources has become more contentious, litigious and technically challenging over the last ten years.  It is an increasingly complex discipline, which Opus’ environmental engineers, scientists and planners are well prepared to meet. Our specialists make it their business to keep up to date with the latest development in standards, policy and funding.  Senior staff are helping to write some of these policies and standards.  Staff located in our area offices work on locally-based projects, while bigger, more complex projects are supplemented by personnel from our main centre offices and international affiliates.

We have more locally-based offices than any of our competitors, and can provide teams of highly qualified personnel to complete water resource management projects of any type or size.  These include:

• Hydrological studies, derivation of peak flows and minimum flows
• Floodplain management, urban and rural flood protection
• Monitoring and improving water quality
• Surface groundwater allocation
• Irrigation design
• Hydro-electric power generation
• Catchment management planning
• River and pipe system modelling
• Water, wastewater and stormwater upgrading