'A national disgrace' – Te Waikoropupū Springs advocates open submissions in Environment Court

Tuesday, 24 May 2022

Groups appealing for the protection of Te Waikoropupū Springs are getting down to the fine print on how far they can push a proposed water conservation order.

Located in the Tasman District and renowned for the clarity of the water, the largest freshwater springs in the southern hemisphere are a taonga for local iwi.

Following a decline in water quality, lead applicants Ngāti Tama ki Te Waipounamu Trust​ and resident Andrew Yuill called for a water conservation order – the highest level of protection that can be afforded to any water body.

On Tuesday, the Environment Court, sitting in Tākaka, heard opening submissions which revealed all parties were largely on the same page, but with different ideas on how to achieve the best outcome.

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Co-applicants Ngāti Tama and Yuill’s lawyer Maree Baker-Galloway​ told the Environment Court that the Resource Management Act had not worked to protect the taonga, and with no fresh water plans in place, the WCO was necessary to ensure the threat to Te Waikoropupū Spring’s mauri (life force or essence) was being handled.

The trust called for the protection and restoration of the water to be prioritised over the water’s use as an economic resource in line with the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, 2020.

That would include limiting nitrate levels to 0.45 mg/l, as well as restrictions on consents for extracting water, Baker-Galloway said.

“The significance of Te Waikoropupū to Ngāti Tama and the outstanding values and characteristics would not be protected if limits and restrictions were set which allowed for, or amount to, degradation and a further increase to contaminate attributes.

“Any further increase in contaminants will further degrade the cultural integrity of the wairua, mana and mauri of the wai.”

Baker-Galloway said data taken from the springs showed nitrate levels had been increasing in the springs and the connected waterways over the past 30 years due to primary industry found in Tākaka Valley.

That had caused degradation to the water quality of Te Waikoropupū, but also harm to Ngāti Tama.

The connection of Ngāti Tama to the springs was deeply spiritual, and the health and mauri of the wai was linked to the cultural health of mana whenua, she said.

“In the face of such threats to the mauri and the taonga the … Tasman District Council continues to fail to set meaningful restrictions on what are the known causes of degradation.

“Its monitoring, planning and allocation response remains woefully out of date, and it has failed to protect te puna tapu o Te Waikoropupū [the sacred spring of Te Waikoropupū] from being degraded.”

As well as its cultural significance, the springs hold scientific importance due to its ecology, another reason for its protection, Baker-Galloway said.

Friends of Golden Bay member Gordon Mather told the court that concern had grown for the organisms that live in the springs due to the increased demand on water resources and nitrate use.

The group had been collecting data on the increasing nitrate trends in the springs since 2016.

Mather said the organisms that live in the aquifer had evolved over aeons in a low-nutrient environment, but the environmental impacts of primary industry going unchecked could be devastating to their survival.

“Many, if not the majority, of these species are believed to be endemic, they are feeding on the dissolved organic matter that results in the extraordinary water purity and clarity. Despite their crucial role, we have little knowledge of their biology, lifecycles and tolerance to environmental variance.

“Change in land use patterns present a real or potential threat to these organisms and, remarkably, there is currently no legal protection for these organisms.”

Nitrogen discharge had increased at the springs in the past six years by almost 40%, from 0.395 mg/l to 0.50 mg/l, Mather said.

“It’s a national disgrace,” Mather said. “This situation is offensive to tangata whenua and is unacceptable for visitors.”

Ngāti Tama ki Te Waipounamu Trust also sought the option of partnership in the management of the springs, which was supported by the Department of Conservation’s director-general Penny Nelson.

Speaking on her behalf, lawyer Matthew Pemberton said DOC largely supported Ngāti Tama’s position on the changes to the drafted order, however, there would need to be further data gathered regarding the restriction of pesticides.

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“Prioritising the health and wellbeing of water quality in the freshwater system is entirely consistent of understanding the intrinsic water qualities of this WCO.

“The director-general would be concerned if the court accepted clause 12, for example, if nitrate of .51 was provided, which in my position does not reflect current state.”

Judge John Hassan and Environment Commissioners Miria Pomare and Jim Hodge are presiding over the hearing, which will resume at 10am on Wednesday.

The hearing was expected to take two weeks, with week one ending on Friday, May 27, and the second week beginning on June 27.