National Crisis in Water Quality
Tuesday 22 April is Earth Day and Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman is highlighting the plight of freshwater
streams, lakes and rivers around New Zealand.
Dr Norman will be in Dunedin on April 22nd, surveying dairy operations in the Maniototo area by aircraft and looking at
the intensification that's been happening recently here in Otago.
Dairy expansion is happening so quickly that regional councils can't keep up with their duty to regulate water
pollution.
Water quality is suffering. This is a blow not only to recreational water users such as fishermen, swimmers and
kayakers, but also to nature – to the unique creatures that live in our local waterways such as the New Zealand
Long-finned Eel.
The Greens are calling for a moratorium on new water consents until the situation can be properly assessed.
"We are in the middle of a wave of agricultural intensification and the information being provided as to the impact of
intensive agriculture is profoundly flawed," says Dr Norman.
"More consents to extract water are being issued in an ad-hoc basis across the country. We know the impact is serious
because our rivers are dangerous to swim in and are drying up. But we don't have the full picture because central
government agencies are failing to tell us".
The Greens released a statement earlier by Dr. Mike Joy, senior lecturer in environmental studies at Massey University
(see video statement here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf0dx-QFp04). Dr Joy says that our lakes and rivers are
actually much worse than stated in the government’s State of the Environment report but many freshwater ecologists are
unable to speak out about it.
While in Dunedin, Dr Norman will be taking part in a project to clear litter from part of the Water of Leith and will
give an evening talk on the plight of New Zealand's freshwater ecology.
ENDS