Water pollution in New Zealand - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies . Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds....

in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

is an increasing concern for environmentalists and regulatory bodies. An increase in dairy farming in New Zealand

Dairy farming in New Zealand

Dairy farming in New Zealand began from small beginnings during the early days of colonisation by Europeans. The income from dairy farming is now a major part of the New Zealand economy, becoming an NZ$11 billion industry by 2010.-History:...

is linked to an increase in water pollution, and siltation due to land clearance has affected lakes, rivers, caves and bays. There are more than 800 water quality monitoring sites around New Zealand that are regularly sampled.

Agriculture

Agriculture is the dominant use of land in New Zealand and has had the most widespread impact on water quality. In recent years water pollution has increased since stocking rates are becoming higher and there is an increasing use of fertilizers. Horticulture

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

, arable farming

Agronomy

Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...

and plantation forestry have a lesser impact than dairy farming

Dairy farming

Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...

.

In 2001 Fish and Game New Zealand

Fish and Game New Zealand

Fish and Game New Zealand is a statutory body set up to advocate for recreational hunting and fishing in New Zealand.It was set up under the Conservation Act 1987 with the statutory responsibility for the sports of freshwater sport fishing and gamebird hunting...

started the high profile "dirty dairying

Dirty dairying

Fish and Game started a high profile "dirty dairying" campaign to highlight the problems caused by intensification of dairy farming on the ecological health of New Zealand's freshwater environment...

" campaign to highlight the effect of pollution from dairy farming intensification on the ecological health

Ecological health

Ecological health or ecological integrity or ecological damage are the symptoms of an ecosystem's pending loss of carrying capacity, its ability to perform ecological services, or a pending ecocide, due to cumulative causes such as pollution. it can also be defined as farming so as to minimize the...

of freshwater environments. As a reaction to this campaign Fonterra

Fonterra

Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative owned by almost 10,500 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exceeding NZ$19.87 billion, is New Zealand's largest company.- History :In...

, the largest dairy company in New Zealand, along with a number of government agencies instigated the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord

Dairying and Clean Streams Accord

The Dairying and Clean Streams Accord is an agreement signed in 2003 in New Zealand between Fonterra, Ministry for the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and regional councils...

to address water pollution due to dairy farming. The aim of the Accord is to limit the access of stock to waterways. Fonterra exports the majority of its produce and encouraging farmers to limit environmental impacts

Environmental degradation

Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...

is a method of getting environmentally aware consumers to purchase their products. In a report released in October 2008 Fish and Game and Forest and Bird were highly critical of the Accord.

Domestic

Urban runoff

Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater created by urbanization. This runoff is a major source of water pollution in many parts of the United States and other urban communities worldwide.-Overview:...

is polluted with detergents, waste oil, litter and fecal matter. Some stormwater drains have a fish logo pained on the curb to highlight stormwater pollution.

Recreation

High numbers of visitors to parks and other areas where there are no toilets is increasing the chance of pollution from human waste

Human waste

Human waste is a waste type usually used to refer to byproducts of digestion, such as feces and urine. Human waste is most often transported as sewage in waste water through sewerage systems...

. In alpine areas, where anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion

Anaerobic digestion is a series of processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. It is used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste and/or to release energy....

of fecal matter

Fecal Matter

Fecal Matter was a short-lived punk band from Aberdeen, Washington, that formed in late 1985. It was the first band conceived by Kurt Cobain, who would become famous as the frontman and guitarist of the seminal grunge band, Nirvana. The band recorded only one demo tape, Illiteracy Will Prevail,...

is slow, the Department of Conservation have sewerage holding tanks on the toilets at backcountry hut

Backcountry hut

Backcountry huts are huts that serve overnight hiking and trekking needs and can be found in many places in the world.-New Zealand:New Zealand has a network of approximately 950 backcountry huts...

s. The sewerage is flown out by helicopter for treatment elsewhere. Freedom camping, a popular activity in some areas, is suspected of causing water pollution due to the incorrect disposal of human waste.Which comes from sewage overflow.

Urban areas

The most significant source of water pollution in urban areas is due to sewerage

Sanitary sewer

A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...

. Broken sewers and faulty connections allow sewerage to enter stormwater systems. Also, during flooding sewerage pumping stations are inundated with the floodwaters and sewerage is released.

Water run-off from roads contains pollutants such as zinc, copper, lead and hydrocarbons from vehicle wear, vehicle emissions and from the road surface itself. Urban areas have large amounts of paved surface therefore there is a higher likelihood that water contaminated with organic matter will not be filtered through soils.

Sediment run-off from exposed soils in new subdivisions does occur and if it occurs due to breaches of the resource consent

Resource consent

A resource consent is the authorisation given to certain activities or uses of natural and physical resources required under the New Zealand Resource Management Act . Some activities may either be specifically authorised by the RMA or be permitted activities authorised by rules in plans...

prosecution may result. To limit sediment run-off during earthworks straw bales and stormwater settling ponds are used.

Water pollution by region

Regional council

Regions of New Zealand

The region is the top tier of local government in New Zealand. There are 16 regions of New Zealand. Eleven are governed by an elected regional council, while five are governed by territorial authorities which also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as unitary authorities...

s have the responsibility to address water use and misuse issues as set out in the Resource Management Act

Resource Management Act

The Resource Management Act passed in 1991 in New Zealand is a significant, and at times, controversial Act of Parliament. The RMA promotes the sustainable management of natural and physical resources such as land, air and water...

, a significant Act of Parliament that regulates natural and physical resources such as land, air and water.
Differing land use and climate means that water pollution varies across the regions.

style="color:black"|**Water trends for selected regions**
Region	Allocation and abstraction		Water quantity		Surface water quality		Groundwater quality		Future demand
Region	Surface water	Ground water	Surface water	Ground water	Micro biological	Inorganic	Micro biological	Inorganic	Proposed irrigation schemes
Canterbury	Increasing	Increasing	Uncertain	Uncertain	Uncertain	Uncertain	Uncertain	Decreasing	Increasing
Hawke's Bay	Increasing	Increasing	Steady	Decreasing	Uncertain	Uncertain	Uncertain	Decreasing	Increasing
Waikato	Increasing	Increasing	Uncertain	Uncertain	Decreasing	Decreasing	Uncertain	Decreasing	Steady
Southland	Steady	Increasing	Steady	Steady	Uncertain	Uncertain	Decreasing	Uncertain	Uncertain

The above table is an aggregate of water trends in the regions and it shows no trends in water quality improvement or the related issue of water abstraction. However, there are observed improvements in water quality for some water bodies in some cases.

Bay of Plenty

The Tarawera River

Tarawera River

The Tarawera River is in the Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand.It flows from Lake Tarawera, northeastwards across the northern flanks of the active volcano Mount Tarawera, and past the town of Kawerau before turning north, reaching the Bay of Plenty six kilometres to the west...

, nicknamed "the black drain", has had a history of water pollution, predominantly due to industrial activity.

Canterbury

Historically much of Canterbury has been dry land and arable farming

Agronomy

but there has been a huge increase in dairy farming

Dairy farming

in the region. Dairy farming in Canterbury requires large amounts of irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

since the average rainfall is too low to support dairy cow pastures.

The Central Plains Water

Central Plains Water

Central Plains Water, or, more fully, the Central Plains Water Enhancement Scheme, is a large-scale proposal for water diversion, damming, reticulation and irrigation for the Central Plains of Canterbury, New Zealand....

scheme, currently going through the hearing process in order to obtain a resource consent

Resource consent

, is a controversial plan due in part to the anticipated impact on water quality. When completed it will be used to irrigate 60,000 ha of the Canterbury Plains

Canterbury Plains

The Canterbury Plains are an area in New Zealand centred to the south of the city of Christchurch in the Canterbury Region. Their northern extremes are at the foot of the Hundalee Hills in the Hurunui District, and in the south they merge into the plains of North Otago beyond the Waitaki...

with water taken from the Rakaia

Rakaia River

The Rakaia River is in the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island. The Rakaia River is one of the largest braided rivers in New Zealand...

and Waimakariri River

Waimakariri River

The Waimakariri River is the largest of the North Canterbury rivers, in the South Island of New Zealand. It flows for 151 kilometres in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean....

s.

The Heathcote River

Heathcote River

The Heathcote River lies within the city boundaries of Christchurch, New Zealand, and is fed from springs near Templetons Road and also receives wet weather flows from as far west as Pound Road. It meanders around the base of the Port Hills from west to south-east.-Course:The catchment of the...

has been subjected to a number of recent pollution incidents.

Southland

In Southland

Southland Region

Southland is New Zealand's southernmost region and is also a district within that region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island / Rakiura...

effluent from dairy sheds used for more than 50 cows needs a resource consent

Resource consent

. Environment Southland recommends effluent is spread at a rate of eight hectares per 100 cows and should not applied to wet soils.

Waikato

The Waikato has had a long history of dairy farming and has some of the most productive soils in the country. Water quality, especially as shown by the indicators of conductivity

Conductivity (electrolytic)

The conductivity of an electrolyte solution is a measure of its ability to conduct electricity. The SI unit of conductivity is siemens per meter ....

and pH

In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...

, in the Waikato Region is deteriorating.

The Waikato River

Waikato River

The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand. In the North Island, it runs for 425 kilometres from the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and emptying into Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake. It drains Taupo at the lake's northeastern edge, creates the...

has a high level of pollution due to various point

Point source

A point source is a localised, relatively small source of something.Point source may also refer to:*Point source , a localised source of pollution**Point source water pollution, water pollution with a localized source...

and non-point sources.

West Coast

The West Coast

West Coast, New Zealand

The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...

receives a high rainfall so any potential pollution will be diluted to some degree.

Until recently untreated sewerage was being discharged into the Grey River but government funding was made available to build a sewerage treatment plant.

External links

Water Quality Information System (WQIS) at NIWA
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA , is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts commercial and non-commercial research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences...
Water Information New Zealand - information about drinking water quality
Living Rivers - a coalition of four national NGOs concerned about water quality

News

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Agriculture

Domestic

Recreation

Urban areas

Water pollution by region

Bay of Plenty

Canterbury

Southland

Waikato

West Coast

See also

Further reading

External links