Hawke's Bay Regional Council's 3D aquifer mapping project has been completed

Hawke's Bay Regional Council's 3D aquifer mapping project has been completed. Photo / Supplied

The Hawke's Bay Regional Council's ambitious project to get a clearer picture of the region's freshwater supply has been completed.

After flying 8000km over the past month, the aerial surveying for the council's 3D mapping project has finished.

The information from the survey, which finished ahead of schedule, will be processed by scientists in an attempt to give the clearest picture yet of the region's freshwater supply.

Regional council science manager Jeff Smith thanked the public for their support. Photo / Paul Taylor

Regional council science manager Jeff Smith said the "fun part for the scientists now begins", and thanked the public for their support.

"The data will be used to build a detailed 3D digital picture of the aquifers horizontally and to depths never seen before," he said.

"The new information will improve understanding and management of groundwater resources.

"The information we will get from the survey has significant value for the entire Hawke's Bay community in better understanding our water resource. The results will be a big asset and are to be freely shared and available to tangata whenua, other councils and the community.

Smith added: "I'd like to thank the Hawke's Bay community for their support during the flight period. Seeing a large helicopter flying low with a large hoop dangling from it is an unusual sight and we appreciate people's understanding."

The helicopter, which towed the latest airborne electromagnetic survey technology called SkyTEM, flew over the region's aquifers, scanning them down to 300m.

Preliminary results are expected within six months for priority areas, with the full 3D picture of the region expected to be available in two years.

The 3D aquifer mapping project is a collaboration between the Hawke's Bay Regional Council, Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) and GNS Science, using Danish SkyTEM technology.

The project is one of four freshwater ventures announced during the PGF allocations to Hawke's Bay in June last year.

The others are a whole-of-region freshwater assessment, and pre-feasibility investigations on a Heretaunga flow maintenance/water storage initiative and a Tukituki water security initiative.