Water wars
Division in Far North
An insatiable appetite for avocados could threaten water quality and land stability in New Zealand’s Far North, according to locals.
Residents of Aupo¯uri Peninsula fear that the orchards’ need for water is so great that water levels in the unique aquifer under their land could drop so much that saltwater will run in, wetlands will run dry or the ground above the aquifer will subside.
But orchardists say they have to trust the science of specialised hydrologists, who calculate the water being taken as just a fraction of what flows into the aquifer each year.
Concerns were first raised in 2017, when 17 landowners known as the Motutangi-Waiharara Water Users Group applied to Northland Regional Council to take two million cubic metres of water each year, mostly for largescale avocado orchards.
The consents were considered by independent commissioners then appealed to the Environment Court, with input from the Department of Conservation.
In August 2019, the court ruled there needed to be strict monitoring of salinity (salt content in water), groundwater levels and wetland conditions over nine years – with the water take starting with just a quarter of the 2m cubic metre total and increasing over four years.
But just months after the Environment Court decision was finalised, the regional council notified a water application from a second block of applicants – this time 24 landowners requesting 6.2 million cubic metres of water each year.
Resident Karyn Nikora-Kerr said she calculated the water take to be enough water for 686,000 people to drink and cook with each day.
She felt the regional council should have stuck to the Environment Court decision and not allowed any more applications until the nine-year monitoring period was finished.
The stakes were high, with over-used aquifers risking salt water intrusion, which cannot be stopped when it starts, NikoraKerr said.
‘‘I don’t know if you like drinking salt, but I don’t and nobody else does; it’s not going to work.’’
Nikora-Kerr said the community’s use of water was also at risk, with a possibility of existing shallow bores running dry.
Waihopo resident Johnda Subritzky had already noticed her bore was now taking seven minutes to prime when she never used to have to prime it before.
The strength of the community concern was shown when the Sunday Star-Times met more than a dozen Houhora residents who attended a quickly-arranged weekday meeting to share their thoughts.
West coast resident Gabriele Pfaender said she was most concerned about the impact on the environment.
Lowering the water level in the aquifer could impact the sensitive Kaimaumau wetlands, which was a Significant Natural Area hosting mudfish, eels and rare birds. It could also impact the area’s rare dune lakes.
Waiharara resident Wendy Thomas said the applications had the potential to spoil the whole peninsula if the calculations were wrong.
‘‘The stakes are as high as they could possibly be – they’ve got to get it right.’’
Northland Regional Council’s initial assessment of the 24 applications to take 6.2m cubic meters was the environmental impact would be no more than minor, although it could adversely effect shallow bores.
But on December 19, the regional council admitted it found inaccuracies in its historical bore data, which meant there was less water in the aquifer than previously thought.
The water in a bore in Houhora was 2.5m lower than first thought and regional council staff were scrambling to recalculate what this meant.
A total of 101 people submitted on the application – just two were for the proposals – and they will be heard by independent commissioners, likely in the first quarter of 2020.
Williamson Water & Land Advisory, a groundwater expert acting on behalf of 23 applicants, said the water extraction was just a fraction of the 374 million cubic metres which ‘‘recharges’’ the aquifer through rainwater each year.
It said the water take would be sustainable even in the worst case scenario of a one-in-50-year drought.
But geologist Dr Alan Nunns, who also owned property in the area, said the proposed water takes were a ‘‘significant’’ proportion of the estimated recharge rate, which came by rainfall over a narrow strip of land and which could be reduced by climate change.
The Aupouri Peninsula has been on the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research’s (Niwa) ‘‘hot spot watch’’ since November and is permanently in a restricted fire season.
One of the applications was from Te Aupo¯uri Commercial Development, the trading arm of Te Aupo¯ uri iwi.
It is applying for 1.7 million cubic metres of water a year to develop 260ha of beef farm from its Treaty of Waitangi settlement into horticulture and market gardening.
The company had not decided what would be grown – avocados were a possibility – but it depended on the water, said manager Geraldine Baker.
‘‘We can’t do anything without water,’’ she said.
Baker said the aim was to make the land productive, both to make money and create local jobs in the area.
But Te Aupo¯ uri also had concerns about the water allocation and submitted against the Motutangi-Waiharara Water Users Group.
Baker said she would like to see a fairer way to allocate the water, other than the ‘‘first in, first served’’ basis.
Another iwi, Te Rarawa, was also applying for water, although the 776,000 cubic metre request was a re-allocation, chairman Haami Piripi said.
The water was used on the iwi’s dairy farm, which used the best irrigation technology to ensure watering was efficient, he said.
The iwi was also looking to build a storage dam, so it could use water from the Awanui River when flooding.
Piripi said sustainability of the aquifer was a key issue but the Te Rarawa had to trust the hydrology experts.
‘‘We’re very conscious of it because we can see the long-term effects and we want to make sure it’s there for a long-term resource.’’