Greenpeace Aotearoa will run more free drinking water testing events in areas most at risk of nitrate contamination this November. The organisation is announcing that it will be testing drinking water in Gore - where nitrate levels in the town water supply escalated rapidly over the weekend - and in Waimate and Darfield in Canterbury.

Both Waimate and Gore have been put under ‘do not drink’ notices in the last year due to unsafe levels of nitrate in the public water supply. The Selwyn District - where Darfield is located - has also seen concerningly high levels of nitrate, with the Darfield town supply consistently testing at levels associated with an increased risk of pre-term birth.

Greenpeace spokesperson Will Appelbe says, "In the wake of Environment Canterbury’s recently declared ‘nitrate emergency’, and dairy conversions restarting en masse, the issue of drinking water pollution has captured the attention of people across the South Island.

"Everyone, no matter where they live, should be able to safely drink the water coming out of their kitchen tap. But right now, many in rural communities aren’t able to do so without risking their health, and still more are in the dark about potential nitrate contamination in their drinking water."

A growing body of scientific evidence has linked nitrate contamination in drinking water with several health risks. These include bowel cancer, preterm birth, and at high levels, blue baby syndrome.

Appelbe says, "Communities are concerned about the quality of their drinking water, and Greenpeace aims to empower them to take action as needed. We run these free testing events so that everyone, no matter where they live, can know whether their water is safe to drink."

"Those most at risk of nitrate-contaminated drinking water are those in rural communities, where there is a high concentration of dairying - as the intensive dairy industry and synthetic nitrogen fertiliser are the main drivers of nitrate contamination.

"Those on private bores - who currently bear both the responsibility of testing their drinking water, and the cost of removing contamination if there is any - are more at risk than those on town supplies, but we test both private bore and town water."

Details for each of the water testing events are below:

Gore:

Thursday 20th November, 10am-4pm

James Cumming Community Centre

Waimate:

Saturday 22nd November, 10am-4pm

Venue to be confirmed.

Darfield:

Sunday 23rd November, 11am-4pm

Darfield Recreation Centre

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