Aqualinc
Aqualinc Research Limited is a Christchurch-based, privately held water and land management consultancy serving New Zealand farmers, irrigation schemes, councils, developers, and government agencies through on-farm water management, resource consenting, groundwater modelling, hydrology, and independent applied research supported by proprietary digital tools.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersChristchurch, New Zealand
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Aqualinc does
Aqualinc Research Limited is a privately held New Zealand water and land management consultancy headquartered in Christchurch with a second office in Ashburton. Founded in 2004 by Dr John Bright and Ian McIndoe, the firm combines scientific research, field data collection, and specialised modelling to deliver seven consulting service lines spanning on-farm water management, resource consents and compliance, groundwater management, water modelling and hydrology, water resource management, development and infrastructure, and independent research. Its proprietary technology stack includes the myIrrigation soil-moisture monitoring platform built with SCADAfarm, the MyCatchment catchment-modelling tool powered by its in-house IrriCalc model, and the Canterbury-specific Irrimap tool, alongside IRRICAD irrigation design software originally co-developed by the firm's principals in the 1990s.
The company operates a sales-led, project-based professional services model targeting six primary customer verticals: farmers and growers, irrigation schemes, councils, developers, consultant peers, and government agencies. Revenue is generated through quote-based consulting engagements of varying duration, with multi-year contracts typical for ongoing council monitoring programmes such as Christchurch City's Automated Piezometer Network. Aqualinc retains research funding relationships with central government (MBIE Endeavour Fund, MPI, MfE, Marsden Fund) and is one of New Zealand's few genuinely independent water research organisations, a positioning it leverages across policy, regulatory, and commercial client work. Ongoing exposure to the Water Services Act 2021, climate adaptation, and resource consenting complexity underwrites a recurring pipeline of compliance, modelling, and advisory work.
The firm relies on an extensive in-house team of scientists, engineers, hydrogeologists, and field technicians, with senior staff carrying 20-40 years of domain experience and recognised credentials such as primary authorship of the Irrigation New Zealand Code of Practice. Multiple senior team members hold chartered engineering (CPEng) and certified environmental practitioner designations, reinforcing the technical credibility that underpins both government commission awards and private-sector consent engagements.
Aqualinc firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Aqualinc
- Legal name
- Aqualinc Research Limited
- Website
- https://aqualinc.co.nz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Aqualinc Research Limited is a Christchurch-based, privately held water and land management consultancy serving New Zealand farmers, irrigation schemes, councils, developers, and government agencies through on-farm water management, resource consenting, groundwater modelling, hydrology, and independent applied research supported by proprietary digital tools.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Aqualinc industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Water and Environmental Management Consultancy
- NAICS
- Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)
- SIC
- Water Supply (4941)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Water Resources, WASH & Integrated Water Management (BPADALAH), Water-Smart Irrigation & Water Stewardship (Drip/Micro, Scheduling, Water Harvesting) (AFAGAMAD)
Keywords
Where Aqualinc is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Christchurch
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices2 records
Markets served
Aqualinc business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for water and land management including resource consents, groundwater management, water modelling, and on-farm water management. Revenue generated through project-based consulting engagements with government agencies, councils, farmers, developers, and other organizations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Professional consulting services |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Aqualinc product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Aqualinc is a New Zealand water and land management consultancy that delivers project-based professional services spanning irrigation and on-farm water management, resource consents and compliance, groundwater assessment and modelling, hydrological and catchment modelling, water resource strategy, development and infrastructure water assessments, and independent applied research. Its services are complemented by three proprietary digital tools (myIrrigation, MyCatchment, Irrimap) and underpinned by founders-developed IRRICAD irrigation design software and MODFLOW-based groundwater modelling capability.
Product overview
Aqualinc is a New Zealand-owned water and land management consultancy offering a portfolio of seven distinct service areas complemented by three proprietary digital tools. The core consultancy services span On-Farm Water Management, Resource Consents & Compliance, Groundwater Management, Water Modelling & Hydrology, Water Resource Management, Development & Infrastructure, and Independent Research. These are supported by three digital tools: myIrrigation (real-time soil moisture monitoring and irrigation scheduling developed with SCADAfarm), MyCatchment (irrigation water requirement modelling using IrriCalc), and Irrimap (Canterbury-specific catchment data). The company operates primarily as a consultancy organization rather than a software-as-a-service product company, with the digital tools serving as proprietary instruments supporting their consultancy deliverables.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- On-Farm Water Management Comprehensive on-farm water services covering irrigation performance assessment, soil moisture monitoring, effluent storage design, and small drinking water supply compliance under the Water Services Act 2021, delivered to farmers and rural landowners in New Zealand.
- Resource Consents & Compliance Full-service resource consenting support covering groundwater and surface water consent applications, water storage consents, effluent discharge consents, land use consents, assessment of environmental effects, consent renewals and active compliance management for landowners, developers and councils.
- Groundwater Management Groundwater services including quality assessment, monitoring programme design, piezometer network management, aquifer testing and yield assessment, sustainable allocation, MODFLOW numerical modelling, contaminant transport modelling and ground source heat pump assessments for councils, water suppliers, developers and industry.
- Water Modelling & Hydrology Hydrological and catchment modelling services including rainfall-runoff assessment, flow regime analysis, flood and drought assessment, water demand assessment, climate projection analysis, surface water modelling, GIS analysis and water quality assessment for councils, developers and industry.
- Water Resource Management Strategic water resource management services covering supply and demand assessment, storage feasibility and design, allocation rules and policy advice, irrigation water guidelines development, long-term supply planning, national-scale assessment and climate change integration for councils and government agencies.
- Development & Infrastructure Development-focused water services including site groundwater assessment, water supply feasibility, well-field design, infrastructure water impacts assessment, heat pump assessments, land-based wastewater disposal, vadose zone modelling, SWRMA delineation and compliance monitoring for property developers and infrastructure project sponsors.
- Independent Research Applied research services covering water limit-setting, real-time water management tools, irrigation research, integrated flow modelling, groundwater research and climate change assessment, delivered through MBIE Endeavour, government contracts and industry partnerships.
- myIrrigation Real-time irrigation management platform developed with SCADAfarm that monitors soil moisture levels continuously via telemetered sensors, enabling farmers to fine-tune irrigation schedules, prove compliance for irrigation scheme audits, and stay within water allocation limits; data accessible from any device.
- MyCatchment Online tool that estimates irrigation water requirements for any location using Aqualinc's IrriCalc modelling, factoring in soil type, crop type and irrigator type based on dry-year scenarios; used by councils, consultants and growers as a default reference for resource consent applications across New Zealand.
- Irrimap Canterbury-specific version of MyCatchment providing catchment intelligence and irrigation water requirement modelling tailored for the Canterbury region in New Zealand.
Quantifiable outcome
- Clients achieve A+ audit results for irrigation scheme compliance requirements
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Aqualinc
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Aqualinc technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature7 records
Aqualinc partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.
- SCADAfarmcoreCollaboration partner for development of myIrrigation platform - soil moisture monitoring and irrigation scheduling tool. Aqualinc worked with SCADAfarm to create the telemetered sensor platform providing real-time root zone data accessible from farmer devices.
- IrrigationNZcoreIndustry partnership for irrigation research and guidelines development. Company directors contributed to Irrigation NZ Code of Practice and Standards.
- Christchurch City CouncilcoreEngaged to manage Christchurch City shallow groundwater monitoring network (Automated Piezometer Programme) on behalf of the council. Network is believed to be one of the largest shallow groundwater monitoring programmes globally.
- Universities (NZ)majorPartnerships with universities for research programmes, student supervision, and collaborative projects. Includes University of Canterbury and other NZ institutions.
- Public Research Organisations (CROIs)majorCollaboration with Crown Research Organisations on research programmes bringing together specialist expertise for complex water management questions.
- University of CanterburycoreProvided hydrogeology and resource consent expertise for University of Canterbury ground source heat pump installations as part of decarbonisation project replacing coal fire boilers.
- Regional CouncilsmajorPartnership with regional councils across New Zealand for water allocation planning, monitoring programmes, and policy development. Includes Environment Canterbury and other regional authorities.
- Deep South Science ChallengeminorNational science challenge partnership for climate and environmental research with relevance to New Zealand water systems.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Aqualinc competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GHD: Global engineering, environmental, and water consultancy with substantial NZ operations in water resources, irrigation, and infrastructure. Offers similar services to Aqualinc at greater scale and is a credible competitor for major NZ council and government water programmes.
- Tonkin + Taylor: New Zealand-based environmental and engineering consultancy with overlapping water resource, groundwater, and contaminated land practices. Aqualinc competes with Tonkin + Taylor on council and developer water assessment mandates across NZ.
- Boffa Miskell: NZ planning, environmental, and landscape architecture consultancy with a significant resource consenting and water assessment practice. Targets the same council, developer, and government clients as Aqualinc's consenting and environmental services.
- SLR Consulting: Global environmental and water consulting firm with strong ANZ presence. Competes with Aqualinc on resource consenting, hydrology, and irrigation-related projects for councils and primary sector clients.
- Pattle Delamore Partners: NZ water and environmental engineering consultancy with strong groundwater, contamination, and resource consent practices. Closely comparable in size, technical depth, and primary customer segments (councils, developers, industry).
Broad incumbents
- Stantec: Global water, environmental, and infrastructure consulting firm with NZ operations. Competes at the programme level for large council water, irrigation, and stormwater mandates where Aqualinc currently serves as a specialist sub-contractor.
- AECOM: Global infrastructure and environmental consulting firm with significant NZ water practice. A broad-based competitor for council, developer, and government water work where Aqualinc's specialist consultancy positioning can be displaced by bundled offerings.
- NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research): New Zealand Crown Research Institute focused on water, climate, and freshwater science. Overlaps with Aqualinc on applied hydrology, climate impact assessment, and government-commissioned water research, but operates at a much broader portfolio level.
- Landcare Research (Manaaki Whenua): NZ Crown Research Institute with related capabilities in land-environment, soil water, and primary sector research. An alternative research partner to Aqualinc on government-funded environmental science programmes.
- GNS Science: NZ Crown Research Institute for earth and water sciences. Adjacent peer for hydrogeology, groundwater, and geothermal-related research that overlaps with Aqualinc's aquifer and groundwater modelling work.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Aqualinc social profiles
Digital presenceAqualinc financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Aqualinc leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Aqualinc funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Aqualinc M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Aqualinc
What does Aqualinc do?
Aqualinc is a New Zealand water and land management consultancy that delivers project-based professional services spanning irrigation and on-farm water management, resource consents and compliance, groundwater assessment and modelling, hydrological and catchment modelling, water resource strategy, development and infrastructure water assessments, and independent applied research. Its services are complemented by three proprietary digital tools (myIrrigation, MyCatchment, Irrimap) and underpinned by founders-developed IRRICAD irrigation design software and MODFLOW-based groundwater modelling capability.
Is Aqualinc a public or private company?
Aqualinc is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Aqualinc founded?
Aqualinc was founded in 2004. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Aqualinc based?
Aqualinc is headquartered in Christchurch, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Aqualinc make money?
One revenue line is on record: consulting Services.
Who are Aqualinc's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GHD, Tonkin + Taylor, Boffa Miskell, SLR Consulting and Pattle Delamore Partners. Broad incumbents are Stantec, AECOM, NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research), Landcare Research (Manaaki Whenua) and GNS Science.
Does Aqualinc have an API?
No public API is recorded for Aqualinc.
What industry is Aqualinc in?
Aqualinc's product category is Water and Environmental Management Consultancy. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAIAD, Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting, with a secondary code of BPADALAH, Water Resources, WASH & Integrated Water Management. Its NAICS code is 54162 and its SIC code is 4941.