Climate Intelligence.
Adapting to a changing climate starts with better data. To strengthen climate intelligence across the catchment, Central Plains Water Limited (CPWL) has invested in three high-quality weather stations — improving the accuracy of local climate data and supporting better decision-making on farm and across the wider groundwater system.
This investment reflects our long-term commitment to climate resilience, science-led planning and continuous improvement in environmental performance.
Closing a Known Gap.
There has been a clear gap in climate-station coverage across the upper and mid-plains following the closure of historic monitoring sites.
By establishing a reliable, high-quality local network, CPWL is helping close that gap — improving weather modelling accuracy, strengthening environmental representation across the zone, and enabling more informed environmental decision-making.
What This Enables.
The new weather stations support:
- Improved analysis and modelling in the Selwyn-Waihora area.
- Improved accuracy of tools such as soil-moisture monitoring used by shareholders.
- Provision of reliable, local climate data to support irrigation decisions.
Betta data leads to better water management –supporting both productivity and environmental outcomes.
Built to National Standards.
The three stations meet Tier 2 classification standards, aligning with World Meteorological Organisation thresholds and consistent with those used in NIWA’s climate mapping and virtual climate network.
Installing Tier 2 sites ensures these locations can be used for a wide range of current and future scientific, operational and compliance applications.
This strengthens the integrity of the data — and ensures it remains valuable well into the future.
