But in defending his plan he said the country needs some limitations on the growth and quantity of the activities the Government knows are having an adverse effect on water quality.
He acknowledged there is already a lot being done in Canterbury.
“And this managed aquifer recharge site is an example of this work,” Parker said.
He told farmers and industry leaders who gathered on the Hinds River bank farm just south of Ashburton that while he is open to ideas around the dissolved inorganic nitrogen level he is committed to a water measure of ecosystem of health.
While acknowledging some farmers are already practising good management he said others are ignoring it.
“We need all farmers abiding and some are not unless there’s regulation.”
The Government needs to improve the tools for farmers to do that so it is committing $30 million to improve the Overseer software programme.
And the Government may be better placed to reward farmers for alternative practice such as growing plantain.
But there’s no way the Government will push the consultation time out to six months as had been suggested necessary by farmers and industry stakeholders.
“We are not allowing that. We need to bring this along and it’s our job to make some decisions on what hasn’t been done in the past.”
Longbeach farmer and Ashburton water zone committee chairman Bill Thomas said farmers in the region have been farming under the Canterbury Water Management Strategy for some time.
And the freshwater proposals scare those farmers.
“We feel we are going quite well and to be getting directions like this from the top down is like being hit with a sledge hammer.
“So we want you to know we are doing things and we are achieving,” Thomas said.
Parker said the Government respects the work already being done but the plans will have to measure up against the proposed new targets for ecosystem health.
He suggested some misrepresentation of the policy has heightened farmer anxiety in Canterbury.
The good news came when Parker cut the ribbon to open a second recharge site in Ashburton District.
Recharging is promoted as a tool to use in the water quality and quantity solutions.
Parker praised the Hekeao/Hinds Water Enhancement Trust, the project’s movers and shakers.
“I’m absolutely delighted to see the progress MAR has made here,” Parker said.
He told the trust a decision on its Provincial Growth Fund application for $2m to further the MAR work is due soon.
Project leader Peter Lowe said the ongoing MAR pilot has clearly demonstrated it is a viable tool in conjunction with necessary on-farm nutrient reduction to achieve agreed water quality goals.
“Of that there is no question.”
He said Parker’s visit was primarily to showcase the achievements of the MAR pilot, which is pioneering for New Zealand.
“We are dealing with a complex, interconnected groundwater and surface system and at the same time pioneering NZ-new technology.
“It is very important to stress that from the start of this process the Ashburton and Hekeao/Hinds community has been motivated to engage and take ownership of the water quality challenges and work to find solutions,” Lowe said.
The MAR site takes water from the Rangitata Diversion (irrigation) Race and filters it into groundwater aquifers via a leaky pond.
The water is diluting nitrate concentrations and raising groundwater levels.
