Connor has completed work on two major freshwater projects, both based in Aotearoa-New Zealand. His main role has been to lead the indigenous-freshwater workstreams through Te Kura Taka Pini Ltd. Pūkeka Wai: Water Knowledge for Buidling Resilience in Vulnerable Communities, is a community driven project that aims to model and identify the source of nitrate contaminating the drinking water supply of a community. There is a lack of monitoring in the region which has elevated the importance of working with the local indigenous people and incorporating their essential knowledge. Connor has been helping the team to develop a conceptual and numerical model which can trace the flow of nitrate through groundwater to allow actionable changes and reduce contamination. He has further bridged the connection between research instritues and the indigenous people to ensure the project's success.
The second project connects epidemiology, water science, and infrastructure to complete a national burden of disease analysis of water-borne disease in Aotearoa New Zealand from community drinking water infrastructure. Connor has had a key role in establishing a Ngāi Tahu (indigenous population) Monitoring Programme with the goal of building indigenous capability and capacity in the drinking water space. He has spent time developing a bespoke online training course, completed site visits and sampling, and recruited a group of interested individuals across Aotearoa-New Zealand to build a community of drinking water experts. Connor has also developed a baseline understanding of the drinking water quality at 19 indigenous villages to determine the safety of these supplies and the level of investment that is needed moving forward.