Our birthright sold down the river

OPINION: Winding from the Ruahine Range on the boundary between Manawatu and Hawke's Bay to the sand country around Foxton, the Manawatu River should be the jewel in Manawatu's crown. Instead it is an open drain.

Research by the Cawthron Institute in Nelson has found the river is one of the most polluted waterways in the Western world. Tests measuring oxygen changes in water have found higher levels of pollution at Hopelands, north of Woodville, than in 300 other rivers and streams in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The river's reading of 107 was almost double that of the second worst offender – a river near Berlin, downstream from a sewage plant. A measurement of 0-4 is considered healthy.

The pollution is not confined to Manawatu. Waterways across New Zealand are being fouled by farm runoff, treated sewage and industrial waste. Rivers and streams from which it was once safe to drink are now not fit for swimming. Massey University ecologist Mike Joy says swimmers have only to get some water in their mouths at the wrong time of year in the Manawatu to become sick.

Sewage discharges and industrial spills, both lawful and unlawful, contribute to the pollution. The Palmerston North, Manawatu, Horowhenua and Tararua councils all have consents to discharge treated sewage into the river. Fonterra, NZ Pharmaceuticals and Tui Brewery have consent to discharge wastewater.

But the biggest cause of pollution in the Manawatu, and elsewhere, is farm runoff – predominantly cow urine – which can take up to 50 years to find its way into waterways. It is a problem that has intensified as land use has intensified.

To reduce the flow, the Manawatu-Wanganui regional council has drawn up plans to issue farmers with all-encompassing resource consents and leaching allowances that will progressively decline. The plans make sense, but are running into opposition from farmers.

Federated Farmers regional president Gordon McKellar says regulation is not the way to win the support of farmers, some of whom fear they will have to cut their herds by up to 50 per cent if the council's plans are implemented. Fonterra has proposed an "audited self-regulated approach" for the first five years.

However, the problems caused by nutrients leaking into waterways and lakes are not new. They have been apparent for a long time. Farmers have had time to voluntarily change their practices. Some have taken it, planting tree belts to filter nutrients, fencing off streams and adjusting pasture use, but the shameful state of the Manawatu River shows more needs to be done.

Farming underpins the standard of living of all New Zealanders, but the destruction of a national treasure – the country's rivers, streams and lakes – is too high a price to pay for prosperity. If that means a few farms are rendered uneconomic, so be it. Being able to swim in rivers and streams is a New Zealand birthright that should not be sacrificed on the altar of expedience.

- © Fairfax NZ News