Irrigation New Zealand has welcomed the final report on the Water Services Bill, taking a different stance to many of the industry bodies on the release of the Three Water proposals.
“I do not believe the sky is falling and that our farmers and growers are being unfairly penalised or pressured,” IrrigationNZ chief executive Vanessa Winning said.
“This is ultimately about safe drinking water and our rural and small communities are our most vulnerable.
“We have been granted three more years over the rest of the water suppliers to conduct assessment and put in place mitigation measures to ensure safe drinking water.
“We are working with local government, the Ministry of Health and Three Waters on acceptable solutions with incentives and workable frameworks for reporting.
“I believe a negative approach to all change is causing unnecessary stress and anxiety.”
IrrigationNZ published its submission on the Water Services Bill to the health select committee in March 2021.
The submission sought a better outcome for small drinking water users in rural areas while still delivering on the intent of the Bill.
Winning says the submission was well-received with acknowledgement for a more workable approach for rural suppliers.
“We would like to see a healthy homes approach, where councils and regulatory bodies incentivise adoption of acceptable solutions such as UV filters or backflow preventers,” she said.
“We would also like to see existing frameworks, such as the integrated farm plan or farm environment plan, used as an approach for water registering and mitigation, meaning certified farm consultants would be authorised to sign this off after appropriate training, reducing the cost and time burden on farmers of additional compliance mechanisms.”
For irrigation schemes supplying water in bulk or for council distribution, IrrigationNZ will work with Taumata Arowai on how to get practical access to required water and who is then considered a supplier.
Winning says treating water at source when its primary use is for application on plants and soils is impractical and potentially damaging to those plants, so workable solutions prior to being used as drinking supply will need further consideration to ensure supplementary use can continue.
