Water quality is not a town v country issue

New Zealanders have a natural affinity with our water, whether that be swimming at the beach in the beautiful Bay of Plenty, kayaking on a West Coast river, or pulling in a snapper on the Hauraki Gulf to take home for the family dinner.

There is no argument that Kiwis want clean and healthy waterways where we can swim, surf and fish.

Nobody wants to see plastic in our oceans, polluted rivers or septic beaches that are unable to be used.

The challenge is that while we all agree on the ultimate goal of improving water quality, there is disagreement on what needs to be done to achieve it and the pace and scale of change required.

The simple truth is that while everyone says they want clean water, they usually picture someone else needing to change their behaviour or spend the money.

We will all need to play a role in the solution, which will be expensive. We need to shift the national dialogue away from one of blame and scapegoating to something more conducive to addressing the complex challenges we are facing.

First up, let’s celebrate the good work farmers are doing. Twenty years ago, it would have been fair to point a finger at farmers.

But over the past 15 years, dairy farmers have fenced off more than 98 per cent of waterways.

And between 2010 and 2015, the average dairy farmer spent $90,000 on upgrading effluent management.

Environment Minister David Parker’s ‘‘Essential Freshwater’’ policy proposes new environmental standards that would essentially signal a moratorium on dairy farming.

The conversation Parker has had so far on these environmental bottom lines has been simplistic.

There has been a huge focus on why clean water is a good thing, but a lack of analysis around how we will achieve this, and what it will cost us.

Officials have indicated that some economic analysis will be ready for release, but not till

February. This isn’t good enough when you consider consultation closed in October.

Our freshwater conversation needs to move towards how we might actually achieve improved water quality from here on and where the costs may fall, not continued feel-good rhetoric about ‘‘birth rights’’.

Consider this: On just the Manawatu¯ River there are currently 29 large-scale community discharges.

The vast majority of them are either dated or noncompliant. It is estimated that on just this one river, the cost of improving these community discharges will go ‘‘into the billions’’.

When we add up the cost of improving urban water quality infrastructure across New Zealand, it is eye-watering.

But who is leading this conversation with ratepayers? Which Government minister has put the costs to our households across the country?

Ratepayers will understandably be cautious about signing up to decades of increased council spending, but consider this, a billiondollar spend across Manawatu¯ Whanganui’s roughly 250,000 residents is about $4000 per person.

Like I said, it’s easy when it’s someone else’s money.

The contrast between the pace of change in urban and rural settings has had a spotlight shone on it in Wellington recently.

Only a week after it was discovered a Te Papa water quality display showing brown water labelled ‘‘farm stream’’ was actually dyed tap water, a 100-year-old pipe failed less than a kilometre away was draining raw sewage at a rate of 100 litres per second directly into Wellington harbour.

In Auckland, around two billion litres of sewage-inflicted water ends up in Auckland’s Waitemata¯ Harbour every year.

Water quality is not a town vs country issue. We all need to work together.

I do ask the minister to put some costs out in front of Kiwis, urgently. Let us see what this will cost per urban ratepayer and per farm.

Farmers will be continuing to work hard to improve water quality. It is important they see the whole country is willing to work hard on this issue.

Water is one of our country’s strategic assets. Maybe it could even power an economy less dependent on fossil fuels.

But we are going to have to be prepared to pay for it.

Todd Muller is a National MP and Opposition spokesman for agriculture

The cost of improving urban water quality infrastructure across New Zealand is eyewatering.