Farmers, like everyone, want clean, fresh water but the blanket regulatory approach in the Government’s Action for Health Waterways discussion document lumps those who have cut their footprint with those who haven’t.
Federated Farmers’ reaction was scathing.
Water spokesman Chris Allan said proposed nitrogen reduction targets of 80% mean farming will cease in large parts of rural New Zealand.
“The long-term targets for nitrogen reduction are effectively unachievable in some parts of the country and will end pastoral farming in these areas.”
Federated Farmers considers land use change controls to effectively be a ban.
“The discussion documents say an interim control is not a ban. But if it stops you from doing something with your own land, without appeal or any achievable recourse then it’s a ban, pure and simple.”
Morrison said nitrogen grand-parenting provisions lock farmers into a farm management system and limit options.
B+LNZ will work with the Government to implement workable policies on fencing requirements, defining intensity and ensuring community catchment groups are not disengaged.
Local Government NZ’s regional sector and Bay of Plenty Regional Council chairman Doug Leeder says for councils to meet the 2025 deadline to notify water plans, consultation might be reduced and water plans might be region-wide rather than tailored to issues in specific catchments.
He welcomed Parker’s commitment to change the Resource Management Act, saying delays mean a 2003 plan released by his council to manage nutrients in the Rotorua Lakes catchment is still not notified
Leeder says the proposal affects urban centres with territorial local authorities renewing wastewater consents in coming years having to meet new standards.
National party agriculture spokesman Todd Muller says the Government’s own data shows freshwater quality is already improving, albeit slowly, under the previous National Policy Statement for Freshwater.
DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says work under way by farmers needs to be acknowledged.
“Our dairy sector is already on the journey to improve and protect water quality and our farmers have been working towards this for more than a decade.”
Mackle questioned the focus on reducing nitrogen and phosphorus, saying it might not have the desired effect on ecosystems while the blanket approach does not recognise the needs of individual catchments.
Academics supported the package.
Our Land and Water chief scientist Professor Richard McDowell says proposed regulation of fencing and grazing of winter crops fills gaps in existing policy.
“For example, we know the majority, 77%, of contaminant loads come from small streams but fencing them off may not be the most practical nor sensible when other mitigations in headwaters are probably more cost-effective.
“We also know that 10% of a farm in winter forage cropping contributes 30% to 40% of the nutrient load but suspect that this proportion may be greater if winter forage cropping is practiced on floodplains.”
McDowell says if all known mitigations are implemented nationally by 2035 it has been calculated nutrient and sediment losses could be reduced by 30% to 60%.
Waikato University environmental planner Professor Iain White says the catchment-wide and inter-generational approach reflects the scale of the problem and time it might take the transition.
But there are some key questions still to be answered.
“How ambitious will the freshwater management plans be? What is the nature of the economic support for transition? Or how do you define healthy?
“In this respect, I anticipate the power and oversight of the mooted independent Freshwater Commission will be hugely important in translating policy ambition to practical action.”
Cost/care balance needed
Farmers face draconian measures in the new freshwater policy that let’s swimming place polluters off more lightly, Mid Canterbury farmer and IrrigationNZ board member Rab McDowell says.
“Swimmable rivers has been the rallying cry for this water review.
“But this is a freshwater document so the most popular but most polluted swimming places in the country, Auckland’s beaches, are left alone,” McDowell, who farms 360ha with 250ha in arable crops and the rest for dairy heifer grazing and finishing 4000 winter lambs, says.
“Most of the worst rivers for swimming or contaminants are within or downstream of urban areas.
“This is a policy from a Government that knows where its votes are.”
It proposes that waste and storm water operators, urban areas, will need to meet new standards and improve practices but the requirements on farmers are far more draconian.
It proposes immediate tight restrictions on new irrigation, changes in land use and forage and vegetable cropping.
However, in Canterbury most of the actions flagged are already in play.
Irrigation schemes do not allow extra irrigation or land use change unless there is no increase in nutrient losses and ECan requires groundwater nitrate levels to reduce by close to 50% by 2035.
“Farmers are doing a lot but are already finding that challenging and it’s going to get much harder. The rest of the country will find the same.
“We need balance between that care and the social and economic costs,” he said.
McDowell is a trustee of the Hinds Hekeao Water Enhancement Trust implementing the Managed Aquifer Recharge project in the Hinds Plains to protect drinking water, improve groundwater levels, enhance its quality and improve spring fed streams by recharging aquifers with clean alpine water.
