Source: Greenpeace
A new report on New Zealand’s fresh water from the Ministry for Environment has been released, revealing that its quality and safety has been worsening.
The report outlines that between 2019 and 2024, 45 percent of groundwater monitoring sites had E. coli levels above legal limits for New Zealand drinking water on at least one occasion, and 12 percent had nitrate levels above legal limits.
The report also detailed that between 2020 to 2024, modelling estimated that 44 percent of New Zealand’s total river length was not suitable for activities like swimming.
Greenpeace has been ringing the alarm bells on New Zealand’s water safety for years; recently visiting parliament to ask politicians to drink water from rural taps – with nearly all of them refusing: https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/press-release/greenpeace-challenges-mps-to-drink-nitrate-contaminated-water-at-parliament/
Greenpeace freshwater campaigner Will Appelbe says, “New Zealand is in a freshwater crisis. Lakes are choking with toxic algae, rivers are unswimmable, and drinking water in rural communities is contaminated with unsafe levels of nitrate.”
“This report adds to the growing mountain of evidence that New Zealand’s lakes, rivers, and drinking water are in a dire state.”
The report also clearly identifies the main cause of this freshwater pollution – the agricultural sector, primarily intensive dairy farming. Appelbe says it’s clear that New Zealand’s intensive dairy production model isn’t working.
“The dairy industry has insisted on putting a cow on every square inch of Aotearoa. We have an unsustainable amount of cows on the land, and now it’s putting our health – and the health of the environment – in danger. Somehow, the dairy herd is expanding for the first time in more than a decade. That cannot continue.”
“To protect lakes and rivers, and ensure that everyone – no matter where they live – has access to clean safe drinking water, we need to reduce the dairy herd size, and transition towards ecological, regenerative agricultural practices.”
“The Our Freshwater report makes it clear: the time for action is now. Every day that we delay puts freshwater quality at increased risk.”
