Critics of freshwater plan remain firm as Government goes on the defence

Friday, 24 February 2017

Heated debate around the government's proposed swimming water-quality standards continues, with more groups joining the critical chorus against the plan.

The Government announced on Thursday a proposal requiring 90 per cent of rivers and lakes to become swimmable by 2040, in accordance with new water-quality guidelines.

A scummy pond is all that remains of the Selwyn River at Chamberlains Ford.

Those guidelines change the national 'wadeable' standard to a 'swimmable' standard, which requires a different grading method.

The proposal's critics – including environmental groups and several freshwater scientists – said the new standards were misleading and either did little more than the existing guidelines or in some case were lower.

Heath Churchill, 12, enjoys the water on a warm summer's day at Chamberlain's Ford in 2011.

On Friday more groups criticised the proposal, including the Tourism Export Council and the Rural General Practitioner Network, which both said Government had been too slow in addressing poor water quality.

**READ MORE:

Rueben Perry stops for a drink in the Opihi River during the Coast to Coast race. It has 'excellent' water quality, but is unswimmable at times due to algal blooms.

* New Government target to see 90 per cent of rivers and lakes 'swimmable' by 2040

* The thorny politics of 'swimmable', a word losing its meaning

* Our freshwater health crisis – preventive medicine urgently needed

* No longer swimmable: A community mourns its lost river**

Environment Minister Nick Smith defended the Government's plan and accused critics such as the Green Party of using 'junk science'.

He reiterated his view that the plan was ambitious and would improve water quality to its highest point in decades.

'There's no question we want to improve water quality. We are not in dispute with the Greens about that.

'What we are in dispute over is whether the Government's classification of rivers is fair and reasonable for an average person.'

He said for a river to be classed as swimmable under the new guidelines, E.coli levels could not exceed 540 per 100 millilitres more than 20 per cent of the time, but it would also need an annual median level of 130 E.coli per 100ml.

At the 540 concentration, there would be a one in 20 chance of getting sick. At the 130 concentration, there would be a one in 1000 chance.

Smith said it was unfair for critics to cite the 540 figure because the river would be closer to 130 most of the time.

'What [they] are doing is taking the worst-case scenario on those water bodies and saying that's the level of infection that applies all the time. That's very unfair and not true and in my view 'junk science'.'

The country's environmental watchdog, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright, said some aspects of the announcement were laudable, but she had concerns.

She welcomed plans to increase stock fencing and restrict discharges of urban sewage but said it was difficult to tell if the standards were being raised or lowered.

'It's very confusing,' she told RNZ.

'There's been some goalposts moved or some ways in measuring things moved and it's very difficult to tell whether things are being tightened or loosened. That's a big concern of mine.'

She said many rivers and lakes were in places where no-one would swim, such as the high country.

By including those water bodies under the standards, it increased the number of rivers that could be left out – places where people were actually likely to swim.

'When I grew up in Christchurch, Coes Ford in the Selwyn River was the place to go and swim in a river and it was lovely – not now. That's what we're worrying about.

'I would not be inclined to go and swim in a river up in Arthur's Pass, where it would be lovely and pristine, but it's just too cold.'

Freshwater ecologist and Environment Canterbury (ECan) councillor Lan Pham said the announcement was a 'betrayal' and did nothing to address freshwater degradation.

She said it would be up to regional councils to set their own targets above the 'gutless' national standards, which should be more in line with community water-quality expectations.

'With increasing nitrogen, pathogen and and toxic cyanobacteria trends turning up in our rivers and lakes … the task of providing for the health and wellbeing of our communities is an increasingly difficult challenge.

'This tells me we can't afford to look to the central government laggards for support in guiding our desperately needed freshwater improvements.'