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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
- What are the reasons for our waterways being polluted and how is this being fixed?
- How big of a problem are poisonous algae and is it possible to get rid of them altogether?
- Is there a way to turn sea water into fresh water and make it usable for farming?
- What happens to all our waste water, do we reuse it?
- How much do our actions impact the environment and how can we clean the water that has been impacted?
- How can we help keep our water clean?
- What happens when the groundwater runs out?
- Is plastic pollution a problem in our fresh waterways like it is in the ocean?
- Has there always been water on Earth? If not, where did it come from?
- 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:
- What does water have to do with our Turangawaewae?
- How is water made?
- Why do some countries have more water than others?
- Why do we depend on water? Why do we need it?
- How does water become salty?
- How long can we live without water?
- How much water do farmers need to use?
- How can we locate groundwater?
- Can fossil water evaporate?
- 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:
- Could the storage ponds fill up with sediment from the Waimakariri River, especially after a flood?
- When did irrigation start becoming popular? - Ryan
- How reliable is the electronics that control irrigators. Are there many maintenance issues?
- Does Canterbury farming produce anything, that relies on irrigation, that is grown nowhere else in NZ and is important to world food supply?
- Do you use filters in irrigation? Jasmine
- Has New Zealand used flood irrigation? Hannah
- Why is Canterbury more irrigated than anywhere else in NZ?
- Why do places like the Waikato not have much irrigation?
- Are there new careers in water that were not around 10 or 20 years ago?