Canterbury In A 'Nitrate Emergency': What Does That Mean?

Friday, 26 September 2025, 3:13 pm
Article: Jonathan Leask - Local Democracy Reporter

As one of the final acts of the term, Canterbury Regional councillors declared a nitrate emergency. Few deny a problem, but some labelled the move as "meaningless" and marks a deepening a divide between town and country. LDR reporter Jonathan Leask looks at the murky issue.

The declaration

In a slim margin, Environment Canterbury declared a nitrate emergency on September 17, backing a motion from outgoing councillor Vicky Southworth.

Cr Southworth said the evidence shows nitrate levels are getting worse and called on the council to take a leadership role.

The motion was to declare a nitrate emergency, take a leadership role in tackling groundwater pollution, receive a detailed workshop on its causes and impacts, and seek advice on the costs and funding options to shift the burden of nitrate treatment from water users to polluters.

Southworth’s motion gained support from chairperson Craig Pauling, Greg Brynes, Iaean Cranwell, Joe Davies, Paul Dietsche, Grant Edge, Nuk Korako, and Genevieve Robinson.

Opposed were deputy chairperson Deon Swiggs, John Sunckell, Ian Mackenzie, Peter Scott, Nick Ward, David East and Claire Mckay.

Pauling, Brynes, and Dietsche, like Southworth, are not restanding for election and won’t be around to deal with the ramifications of the declaration.

In putting the motion forward, Southworth said farmers are working hard to reduce nitrate losses but “collectively it’s not nearly enough”, and there "just has to be less [sic] cows”.

Those who pushed back said the declaration was ‘‘virtue signalling’’ and an attack farmers, who were working to reduce nitrate levels.

The declaration came ECan's recent annual groundwater survey showed both E. coli and nitrate concentrations were increasing, but some argued there is work going on to reduce those levels and it will take time.

Southworth said it needs to happen faster.

What next?

Pauling said initially “the council will carry out the actions agreed to as outlined in the Notice of Motion”.

As it was made at the final meeting of the term, the incoming council will walk into a nitrate emergency.

Pauling is urging the new council, and other groups, “to prioritise these conversations, and to get around the table to consider options to address the issue”.

“This isn’t an issue that can be resolved by one agency or group of people alone, and anyone who thinks otherwise needs to have a closer look into the complexity and history of this issue.

“We won’t solve this by fighting over whose fault it is, we will solve it by coming together to find a way through. We all owe that to our communities and our environment. “

The declaration does not commit ECan to any new expenditure he said.

“The incoming council will need to determine the next steps in addressing this issue, and how potential solutions will be funded.”

The declaration was not an admission ECan has failed address the nitrate issues he said.

“It’s not a fair judgement to say that Canterbury Regional Council is solely responsible for the level of nitrate in our groundwater.

“At the end of the day, we have a problem to solve, and it is going to take everyone working together to do that – and by everyone, I mean industry - farming and irrigation schemes, mana whenua, the community, and all the statutory agencies.”

Pauling said it "isn’t about how many cows are in Canterbury”.

“It’s about finding ways to reduce increasing nitrate trends in groundwater and ensure drinking water sources are better protected.

“We know agricultural intensification is a major source of increasing nitrate concentrations in much of Canterbury’s groundwater. But cows are not the only source.

“Stormwater and wastewater from urban sources are also important to manage.”

Declaration timing defended

Pauling said any councillor has the right to bring a Notice of Motion to the council to be debated and his role as chairperson is to accept or decline them based on criteria outlined in the Standing Orders.

“There was no reasons to decline Councillor Southworth’s Notice of Motion.”

“There is nothing in our Standing Orders around the timing of Notice of Motions or the proximity to elections, so there were no grounds to decline it based on either of those factors.”

Cr Ian Mackenzie was one to question the timing.

“This is the last day of council. You don’t start leading on the day you become redundant”.

Pauling has also reiterated his belief Cr Southworth’s motion was not a political stunt, something Southworth has also denied as she is not seeking re-election and was only “looking out for people”.

During the debate, Southworth stated the Hinds community were consulted on paying targeted rates for the Hekeao Hinds Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) project – an environmental infrastructure project aiming to improve water quantity and quality, but “across most of Canterbury that conversation hasn’t been had”.

She said ratepayers are picking up the tab for solving water pollution problems and “never had the conversation to agree to that, and they don’t have a choice.’

As ECan’s nitrate emergency was from a notice of motion, there was no consultation.

Efforts ignored `

Cr Mackenzie felt the declaration wasn’t about science but “misinformation and alarmism”.

He said the cause of a lot of the high nitrate levels are legacy issues, from previous bad land use practice, but landowners “are heavily involved in implementing practises to reduce these levels”.

The nitrate reduction policies that have been place over the last decade are showing signs that “the groundwater nitrate levels may have peaked and might be showing data to suggest a decline”.

After the meeting, Cr Sunckell said ECan’s mandated catchment interventions “have been deemed ineffective before they are given a chance”.

He fears the decision “will only exacerbate the demise of this and other regional councils”, pointing to the Government’s murmuring about the future for regional councils in the RMA reform.

Government disapproval

Government ministers have slammed ECan’s declaration as the latest example of why RMA reform is necessary.

South Island Minister and Rangitata MP James Meager said the only thing ECan has achieved by declaring a nitrate emergency “is to further question what role regional councils will have to play under the new resource management system”.

“They are hardly putting their best foot forward.

“The declaration does nothing to improve water quality and is completely meaningless.

“This will drive further division between town and country and undermine decades of progress made by farmers.

“Our RMA reform will put a halt to this clearly anti-farmer and anti-growth sentiment and bring a more balanced approach to farming and our environment.”

Selwyn MP Nicola Grigg echoed Meager that the declaration does nothing to improve water quality and “undermines decades of collaborative work by farmers, iwi, councils, and communities - and fuels division and panic, rather than solutions”.

She had previously stated that “the declaration would have no direct legal effect”.

Mid Canterbury ‘already doing its part’

Mid Canterbury catchment collective chairman Duncan Barr said the good news from the collective’s perspective is “nothing changes as we are already operating in a proactive manner”.

“In 2021, we started as a group of engaged locals who agreed the sensible way forward was to collaborate with others in our community, who were already gathering data, to better understand nitrate risk factors.

“In doing so, across 10 catchment groups, we now have a good understanding of water quality challenges in our catchments and are therefore better able to focus on targeted mitigations and solutions.”

The Hinds community is already trying to implement accelerated improvements to a well-known and historic nitrate issues, paying an ECan targeted rate to fund the work of the Hekeao Hinds Water Enhancement Trust.

Trust executive director Dr Brett Painter said the ECan debate recognised that an acceleration of Canterbury water quantity and quality improvements requires an increase in nature-based enhancements, such as managed aquifer recharge, near river recharge, targeted stream augmentation and constructed wetlands,in addition to essential on-farm changes.

“Trialling and implementation of these enhancements across the Hekeao/Hinds Plains has been underway for 10 years, funded by a targeted rate to local landowners, supported by intensive monitoring and incorporation of local knowledge through catchment groups.”

“The collaboration between regional government and communities that was present in the early years of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy has disappeared and consenting processes have become unnecessarily complex and delayed.

“Responses to the declared emergency need to consider how to address these roadblocks to accelerated improvements in groundwater quantity and quality."

In supporting the declaration, Ngāi Tahu councillor Tutehounuku Korako said the Papatipu Rūnanga were concerned about state of freshwater in Canterbury, which drew criticism from Cr Mackenzie.

He said if Ecan and Ngai Tahu were “serious about enabling water quality improvements, they would get behind the [Hinds] MAR project instead of opposing it”.

He was referring to the fact an independent commissioner granted resource consent to the Hinds MAR project to expand its operations, but Te Rūnanga O Arowhenua appealed the decision to the environment court.

Councils move to calm fears

ECan’s declaration on September 17 was discussed later that day at the Ashburton District Council meeting as a matter of extraordinary business.

Cr Richard Wilson said the declaration was “going to put a little bit of uncertainty into our communities as to what our nitrate levels are”.

All the council supplies are tested regularly for a range of parameters, including nitrates which has a maximum acceptable value is 11.3 mg per litre of nitrate.

The highest average result over the last 12 months was in Tinwald at 9.08mg/L, then Hinds at 6.5 mg/L, and Dromore 5.91mg/L

The other three Ashburton treatment plants averaged around 2 mg/L, Methven averaged 0.89mg/L and Rakaia 0.28.

The council encourages private bore owners, especially in rural areas, to test their water regularly, as these supplies are not monitored or treated by the council.

At the council’s stockwater exit transition group meeting the next day, Mayor Neil Brown pointed out the region was now in a nitrate emergency, but testing of some of the water races recorded a 1 mg/L or lower of nitrates.

“Things aren’t adding up” he said.

Selwyn District Council acting chief executive Steve Gibling said that “safe, secure drinking water is a top priority for our community”.

“We have invested heavily in our water infrastructure to ensure this standard is met.

“As part of our long-term plan 24-34, $5.23 million has been budgeted between 2024 and 2030 to investigate the possibility of new, low-nitrate water sources, reflecting our focus on practical, long-term solutions to protect drinking water.”

Selwyn District Council-managed drinking water supplies are monitored regularly and remain compliant with Taumata Arowai Water Services Authority standards, including for nitrate levels he said.

“All water sources are tested for chemical determinants, including nitrates, and the council takes action if levels approach regulatory limits.”

Residents can view up-to-date water quality results on the council’s website he said.

Declaration “long time coming”

Greenpeace spokesperson Will Appelbe said ECan’s decision was long overdue, but ‘‘real action must follow’’.

He said the nitrate emergency is a recognition that drinking water in Canterbury is in crisis due to nitrate contamination, and that urgent action is needed.

“It means that up until now, Environment Canterbury has not done enough to ensure that all of their constituents have access to safe healthy drinking water.

“It’s one thing to support a declaration, but another thing entirely to meet it. And that will depend on who is sitting around the council table at ECan after the election.”

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