ECan To Consider Declaring ‘Nitrate Emergency’

Wednesday, 17 September 2025, 3:56 pm
Article: Jonathan Leask - Local Democracy Reporter

Canterbury regional councillors will today [Sep 17] consider whether the region should declare a "nitrate emergency".

In one of the final acts of this council triennium, Environment Canterbury (ECan) councillor Vicki Southworth has put forward a motion to declare a nitrate emergency.

It comes as ECan's groundwater testing results found nitrate levels were increasing in the majority of monitored sites in Canterbury.

Southworth's motion states that ECan should take a leadership role to urgently address the issue of groundwater pollution impacting drinking water sources and supplies.

However, Selwyn MP Nicola Grigg said Southworth's declaration “is a direct attack on Canterbury farmers” and the inflammatory language created fear and division.

Southworth, who is not seeking re-election, said she wanted ECan to develop steps to reduce nitrate levels in groundwater.

Her motion also requested for a council workshop to outline the scale, causes and impacts of nitrate pollution in Canterbury.

Southworth also wants advice on the indicative cost to drinking water suppliers and private well owners (nitrate receivers) of treating nitrate-enriched groundwater or finding alternative low-nitrate sources.

To pay for that, Southworth wants to explore a targeted rate, levy or other mechanism, such as polluters paying for the costs of nitrate removal from drinking water.

Selwyn MP Nicola Grigg said the declaration “is a direct attack on Canterbury farmers”.

“Virtue signalling like this from ECan must stop. It is nothing but destructive and serves no purpose.

“By calling it a nitrate emergency the councillor is merely grandstanding for local elections.

“It is unnecessary, inflammatory language to create fear and division rather than a measured and science-based response to sensibly managing water quality.”

If adopted, she said the declaration would have no direct legal effect.

“However, the timing and framing is cynically designed to draw public and media attention during the local government elections - and when the government is undertaking significant reform to resource management legislation.”

ECan councillors were calling for more action to address nitrate levels in drinking water last week, following a pilot study of private wells in the Selwyn District - the result of a previous motion by Southworth.

The study tested 18 private wells, with eight found to have nitrate-nitrogen levels exceeding the Drinking Water Standards New Zealand maximum acceptable value of 11.3mg per litre.

Private well owners are responsible for the safety of their drinking water, and while ECan is not a drinking water supplier, it does issue consents.

Incumbent ECan councillors Ian Mackenzie and John Sunckell both spoke at a public candidates meeting last week of how ECan and landowners were taking steps to reduce nitrates, but results would take time.

“It will take a generation for that water and those nitrates to flow through," Sunckell said.

“I have confidence that what we have put in place will work for the environment, but right now we are in a pickle, but it will come, and it will get better.”

Mackenzie said in “the goldrush days of dairy conversion" there were no limits.

Now that limits have been set, and the results of those will take time, he said.

ECan previously declared a climate emergency in 2019.

- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air

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