EDS is actively involved in seeking to preserve the water quality of New Zealand's lakes and rivers. Click on the items below to read more about:
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1.2 Water
The framework for water resource management was strengthened during the review period, with all but two regional councils issuing water management plans. The portion of the population served by public water supply that fully complies with drinking water guidelines increased from 50% in 1994 to 83%in 2004. The portion of the population served by public waste water treatment is high (80%), and of that the majority (91%) is connected to secondary or tertiary treatment. National drinking water quality guidelines are aligned with those of the World Health Organization. A 2003 voluntary agreement (the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord) reached among the dairy industry and central and regional governments has stimulated investment by farmers in fencing and culverts; restrictions on access of dairy stock to waterways is expected to reduce diffuse nutrient loading of streams. Pollution of surface waters by point sources decreased over the review period due to improved treatment capacity and regulation through resource consents. Implementation of coastal management plans has helped reduce pollutant loading to coastal waters and thus improved coastal bathing water quality. Since 1995, six rivers have been designated outstanding water resources via national water conservation orders, bringing to 14 the number of rivers and lakes for which certain natural values are protected.
However, there is still considerable need for progress in water management and related outcomes. The absence of a national policy statement and legally binding national environmental standards for ambient waters has made it difficult for regional authorities to design regulatory or economic measures to limit diffuse pollution of surface waters. Over 15% of the population is supplied drinking water that does not meet national drinking water guidelines, and the Ministry of Health has declared that it has reached the limits of what it can do with non-regulatory approaches. Water quality in rivers and lakes has declined in regions dominated by pastoral farming, where high nutrient inputs and microbiological contamination destabilise natural ecosystems and pose risks to human health. In lowland areas, surface waters regularly exceed national water quality guidelines, and consequent damage to aquatic ecosystems is widespread, mainly due to run-off and leaching from pastoral farming and rural septic tanks. With increased demand for water for irrigation and domestic water consumption, the first-come, first-served approach to water allocation needs refinement. Particularly in water-stressed regions, there is a need to improve understanding of sustainable yield levels of key aquifers, and to rationalise allocation of water as an economic commodity. For farmers and households alike, incentives to conserve water are weak, as pricing is generally not linked to volume abstracted or consumed. Recommendations:
• issue a national policy statement on freshwater quality, establish national environmental standards for drinking water sources, and strengthen national approaches for protecting receiving water quality;
• introduce market-based instruments to internalise the environmental costs of non-point source discharges from agriculture (e.g. run-off of fertilisers, urine from grazing stock);
• strengthen and expand the use of water demand management measures (e.g. volumetric metering, pricing for full recovery of water management costs, water efficiency standards);
• further expand the knowledge base concerning sustainable abstraction levels of key aquifers, and strengthen regulatory control of total allowable abstraction;
• consider introducing cap-and-trade systems and other regulatory and market-based instruments to rationalise the allocation of water abstraction rights in water-stressed regions.
