US Techniques used in New Zealand A ground-brea
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A ground-breaking flood control system could also help improve NZ’s rivers and streams.
A technique originally developed in the United States to reduce the impact of flooding on rural land, may help combat environmental impact in flood-prone areas caused by livestock farming in New Zealand.
Two-stage channels - artificially created floodplains designed to lower the power of water by dissipating its energy during flooding - have also been shown to reduce nitrate run-off from pasture by up to 70 per cent during floods.
The channels have been in use on farms in the US mid-west for 12 years and their unexpected environmental benefits - they also result in significant reductions of phosphorous run-off and curb the build-up of sediment in streams and rivers - have New Zealand scientists excited.
Plans are being finalised to trial the concept in New Zealand from mid-2019 in a project to be run by the Canterbury Waterway Rehabilitation Experiment (CAREX) in partnership with DairyNZ.