Taking a close look at South Dunedin ground

The ground in South Dunedin will come under close scientific scrutiny in a new research project on soil conditions and below-surface water levels.

EQC, GNS Science, QuakeCORE, the Dunedin City Council, the University of Otago and the Otago Regional Council have joined forces on a project to test the soil and install instruments that can take water level measurements every 10 minutes.

EQC Senior Advisor John Scott says results from the study will help understand the effects of rainfall and tidal movement on the water level under the ground, and how the soil may behave in an earthquake.

“With solid scientific data from this project, the community can make better decisions on how to reduce risk,” he says.  “For example, we will have a much better idea of how wide and deep building foundations should be to handle conditions in an earthquake.”

The data gathered from this project will be available on request from the Otago Regional Council.