Boring to gather water data

Starting water level drilling work in Portsmouth Dr earlier this week are Paul Gebert (left), of the Dunedin City Council, and Simon Cox, Sean Templeton and Mike Simpson, all of contractor Golder.

It is one of 25 sites around the South Dunedin area which will be drilled as part of initiatives to prepare the city for storms, earthquakes and sea level rise.

Workers are using piezometers, which are pressure-sensitive tubular instruments that record the subsurface groundwater pressure, to record the water level every 10 minutes, allowing precise tracking of water movement.

The work is being undertaken by EQC, GNS Science, QuakeCore, the city council, the University of Otago and the Otago Regional Council.