September 19th, 2024
Greenpeace Aotearoa warns that elevated nitrate contamination in Ashburton and its surrounding areas' drinking water poses a severe risk to residents' health.
Following an October 2021 testing event, the organisation conducted free drop-in water testing on Saturday, with preliminary analysis revealing 77% of samples showing high nitrate levels, a Greenpeace Aotearoa media release said today.
Greenpeace Aotearoa lead campaigner, Christine Rose, describes the situation as "extremely concerning" and attributes it to intensive dairying in the region.
Rose emphasises that "clean, safe drinking water is a basic human right," but many rural communities like Ashburton face uncertainty about their water quality. Over the past 30 years, synthetic nitrogen fertiliser usage has increased by 700% nationwide, with a ten-fold increase in dairy cows in Canterbury. This fertiliser and cow urine leach into the ground, converting to nitrate, which then contaminates aquifers and groundwater drinking supplies. Rural communities are particularly vulnerable to hazardous nitrate levels in drinking water.
Rose accuses big dairy, led by Fonterra, of prioritising profit over communities' health by polluting their drinking water with nitrates.
Although New Zealand's maximum acceptable nitrate level in drinking water is 11.3 mg/L, recent global studies have identified health risks at much lower levels. Danish research discovered that nitrate levels above 1 mg/L increased bowel cancer risks, while a Californian study linked levels above 5 mg/L during pregnancy to a 47% increased risk of preterm birth.
Greenpeace conducted 107 tests in Ashburton this week, with preliminary analysis showing 77% of samples above the 1 mg/L cancer risk level, 38% above the 5 mg/L preterm birth risk level, and 11% exceeding the current 11.3 mg/L standard. Fairton and Hinds town supplies had samples surpassing 5 mg/L.
Rose urges the government to address nitrate contamination at its source by regulating the intensive dairy industry, phasing out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, and halving the dairy herd to protect rural communities' health. She also calls for a shift towards more ecological farming methods, such as plant-based, regenerative, and organic agriculture.