Environmental group issues SOS over Te Waikoropupū Springs in Golden Bay

Thursday, 12 December 2019

Environmental group Save Our Springs has called for action from the Tasman District Council amid 'signs of a crisis' at Te Waikoropupū Springs in Golden Bay.

A gathering of more than 40 people, that also included members of Extinction Rebellion, Forest & Bird and the Outdoors Party, Save Our Springs, on Thursday rallied outside the council building in Richmond before a meeting.

Spokesman Kevin Moran then appealed directly to the elected members in the public forum section, calling for the council to require records of all fertiliser applications in the recharge zone of the Arthur Marble Aquifer, which feeds the springs.

More than 40 people attended a rally outside the Tasman District Council office in Richmond to urge council action over water quality at Te Waikoropupū Springs in Golden Bay. Attendees included members of Save Our Springs, Extinction Rebellion, For

* Algae in Te Waikoropupū Springs not unusual, says DOC

* Alarm at algae discovery in Te Waikoropupū Springs**

Save Our Springs spokesman Kevin Moran leads chant at a rally outside the Tasman District Council office at Richmond over Te Waikoropupū Springs.

The call comes after the discovery of green algae on the clear waters of the internationally renowned springs, which contain some of the clearest water measured in the world. Members of Save Our Springs feared the presence of algae might be a symptom of rising nitrate levels in the waters of Te Waikoropupū. However, after a sample of the algae was tested, council environmental information manager Rob Smith said it was natural 'and there is no need to be concerned about it'.

Moran said 'meticulous' testing by the Friends of Golden Bay group, which had sent about 600 water samples for laboratory analysis, revealed nitrate levels in the springs had risen by 30 per cent over almost four years, from 0.4 mg/L to 0.52mg/L.

Members of Extinction Rebellion lay algae on the ground.

Meanwhile, the background level in water away from farming areas was low, often below the lab's limit of detection, Moran told councillors.

An algal mat on the springs in November.

Nitrate 'pollution' at Te Waikoropupū appeared higher than ever before.

'It threatens both the tiny creatures in the aquifer [that] clean the water and the flora of the springs itself,' he said.

In a document tabled at the meeting outlining the call for fertiliser monitoring, Save Our Springs says: 'The signs are that there is a crisis developing at Te Waikoropupū owing to fertiliser leachate so this calls for action without delay.'

Testing by Niwa on samples of the filamentous algae has identified it as Rhizoclonium.

Te Waikoropupū Springs contains some of the clearest water ever measured.

Ngāti Tama Ki Te Waipounamu Trust is a joint applicant with Golden Bay resident Andrew Yuill for a Water Conservation Order (WCO) to protect the springs, the aquifer and associated water bodies. A hearing before a Special Tribunal closed in August 2018 and a report to the Minister for the Environment is long awaited.

As well as the requirement for fertiliser application details to be sent to the council 'within a week of the application', Save Our Springs called for the records to made available to the public. The requirement should 'start immediately and not wait for the WCO or any other delaying excuse', the document says.

At the rally before the meeting Extinction Rebellion member Jose G Cano was involved in laying algae on the footpath and pouring over green liquid, which he said represented what could become of Te Waikoropupū Springs.

Nitrates could encourage algae to grow and there was concern it could cause the animals in the aquifer to disappear.

'Do we want to give it up for a few months or years of profit? When we lose it, we lose it forever,' Cano said.