Rush for water predicted

Most freshwater in all of New Zealand's major catchments will be fully allocated in just four years.

By 2012, in a country where snow and rain delivers 500,000 million cubic meters of water each year enough to fill Lake Taupo eight times over new investment will be blocked.

A "gold rush" is underway to get access to the last of the water.

Water seekers will be forced to queue, regional council catchment managers will impose moratoria on new consents and restrict the amount current water current users can take.

At the same time the deterioration in water quality, from intensified land use, will continue. And in times of drought or shortages, the environment, recreational and other community uses will continue to suffer.

It will come about because of New Zealand's system first-in, first-served system of allocating water.

It served us well in the past. It still works in areas where there is a plentiful supply of unallocated water.

However, in all the economically significant major catchments, including Canterbury, Otago, the Waikato, and in parts of Nelson-Marlborough, full allocation has happened or will happen in just 48 months.

How has it happened?

There has been a major intensification of land use since the 1980s.

Nationally, about 95 per cent of the annual inflow remains in the natural water system to maintain ecological health and meet minor human and stock, firefighting, cultural and recreation needs. About 5% (679 cubic metres per second) is extracted by 22,000 individual consent holders for commercial use, mainly for farming: the so-called "abstractive" uses. Of this 77 per cent is for irrigation.

The Canterbury region alone allocates 55 per cent of this national total volume of water.

Of the rest allocated nationally, 11 per cent is for industrial uses, and 9 per cent for public uses (including drinking water).

Between 1999 and 2006 the total amount of water allocated for abstraction grew 50 per cent. Canterbury has the majority of irrigated land (66 per cent) followed by Otago (14 per cent).

Some catchments also face significant water quality issues. The central and regional government initiatives to clean up the central North Island Taupo and Rotorua lakes alone is costing $144.2 million.

Water is essential for business. In fact, without it there is none: Just consider, it takes 40 litres of water to produce a slice of bread, 140 litres for a cup of coffee, and 2700 litres to make a cotton shirt.

The potential shortages and prospects of worsening quality are concerning New Zealanders:

68 per cent believe fresh water quality is worse or much worse than 10 years ago; Seven out of 10 believe there is a water shortage or will be within 10 years; 64 per cent perceive agriculture and horticultural run off as the main cause of freshwater pollution.

There is a solution though.

In some waterways 20 per cent to 80 per cent of the allocated water is not being used. But the current system makes it difficult and costly to transfer that unused water to someone who needs and wants it.

The New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development today releases the results of its $300,000 two-year research project, which proposes what it calls the Best Use Solution. It involves:

* new national environmental standards and policy statements from the Government to set priorities for water use, and minimum national quality standards, guiding regional authorities on what's required;

* integrated catchment management planning to accurately measure what is available and when, what is being used and discharged;

* setting the amount of water available from waterways and aquifers to maintain the ecosystem, protect recreational use and cultural values, make sure there is sufficient for current and future drinking water supplies;

* stipulating the amount available for commercial use.

It is then recommended commercial users get a proportional of the water actually available in this "commercial pool", rather than a fixed amount. Much like the fishing quota system.

Importantly, it also recommends better and extended use of RMA management tools to:

* separately consent the take and use of water;

* allow existing users access to water within catchment rules and contaminant limits set by the community;

*introduce a mechanism enabling the re-allocation of surplus water on a voluntary basis to the most productive use. In this way, unused water already consented but surplus to requirements can be transferred to other consented uses;

* introduce a cap on contaminant discharges and allow those to also be voluntarily transferred, thus maintaining or improving water quality.

In this way, those not using allocated water can transfer it to others with short or long term needs. A Government-funded national consent registry is proposed to allow the transfer trade to happen in a transparent way. Significant takes and returns will be recorded.

The Crown will continue to manage all water on behalf of all citizens.

Aqualinc, the Business Council's principal external consultants on the project, estimate by allowing water to be used for its best use, there is a $1.8 to $3 billion of extra value could be added to the economy over the next 10 years. This is in addition to increased protection for the environment, cultural and community values.

The country's quest to find better ways to protect our waterways, allocate what is truly available and do it more simply, quicker and at less cost, has been occupying policy makers for years.

The Business Council worked with 19 organisations, and consulted another 14, including all major users, iwi, environmental, recreational and agricultural groups to produce the proposal.

Not all will agree with everything in the Best Use Solution. But virtually ever water user believes the current system can't continue.

The Business Council wants an in-coming Government to:

* use the report as a platform to develop a national accord among water interests within 12 months, including any draft legislation;

* trial the new system in a priority water-stressed catchment (most likely Canterbury or the Waikato);

* Roll it out to other high-priority catchments.

Failure has huge costs.

A concerted effort at national and local level will have major rewards: The Taupo and Rotorua lakes' problems need not be visited on other catchments, higher-value use of water and economic growth can be achieved even in the most stressed catchments. And we will have a better chance of enjoying a better environment and secure use of cleaner waterways for all New Zealanders.

Peter Neilson is Chief Executive of the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development. Its 74 member companies believe businesses must be profitable to be sustainable, but also care for the environment and people.

 

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