Water is a t¯aonga, not an asset
It is interesting to see and read about the importance of looking after our waterways. The Government plans to reform our three waters over the coming years, and there is a desperate need to install water meters to ‘‘help’’ our community conserve, preserve and protect our ‘‘asset’’.
Well forgive my scepticism, but when it comes to conserving and protecting our waterways, the truth is that successive governments and councils have failed.
Until 2014, Aotearoa lacked a national strategy or standard for handling freshwater. The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management is a guide to help local authorities set standards and responsibilities to manage our water. That’s the intended purpose; however, the reality is evidently tied to the attitudes of the times, often resulting in negative outcomes.
There are plenty of examples around the country regarding the desecration and pollution of our waterways. From landfill concerns in the Tasman District, to Blenheim’s Doctors Creek, where more than half of the water samples for E coli were well below the national standard.
Many areas in Taranaki have been severely affected by pollution, the constant discharges into our rivers, lakes and ocean.
There is growing opposition towards Remediation NZ consent renewal because of multiple sources of degradation and polluting of the Mimitangiatua Awa (Mimi River) in north Taranaki, and to the discharge of ammonia from the Silver Fern Farms abattoir into Tawhiti Stream, which killed copious amounts of eels.
In 1979, New Plymouth City Council planned to dispose of the city’s domestic sewage and industrial waste through a long sea outfall which would go over Te Rewarewa reef at the mouth of the Waiwhakaiho River.
The Taranaki Clean Sea Action Group was formed in response to council’s plans as they felt the outfall of pollution would affect the entire Taranaki coastline.
The report established that the river, reefs and associated marine life suffered from various degrees of pollution, and that those near to the mouth of the Waitara River in particular are badly polluted and stand to be polluted further.
The warning signs were there, the concerns from local hapu and iwi were ignored, and as a result successive governments and local authorities continued to fail in their responsibility and obligation to protect our freshwater for the wellbeing of current and future generations.
Now our country’s water levels continue to be depleted and there is a recommendation for the New Plymouth District Council to decide whether to install water meters.
However, I suppose my question is, if we are so desperate to conserve water, and our waterways are depleting and levels are remarkably low throughout the country, why do the Government and councils approve consents to exporting companies that take billions of litres of water out of our country every year for sale overseas?
In 2016, there was an outbreak in Havelock North where thousands of people contracted a gastro bug from contaminated water. This came amid public outcry at the presence of several new water exporters in the Hawke’s Bay region, which pay no annual fees.
Then there is the sale of the Ashburton District Council’s Lot 9, which comes with resource consent to bottle 1.4 billion litres of water each year.
Government officials initiated and successfully brokered a deal with an overseas water bottling company, Nongfu, to purchase a Bay of Plenty operation.
Nga¯ ti Awa and Sustainable Otakiri have been opposing a foreign company’s plan to expand existing water bottling at Otakiri Springs in Whakata¯ ne by up to 1.1 billion litres per year.
In 2017, 73 companies received approval to bottle 23 billion litres of New Zealand water per year. By 2019, 88 permits had been issued.
Commercial businesses essentially obtain water for free and pay an average of just $200 a year in fines, which are used to cover consent expenses rather than water costs.
The continual mismanagement and damage by overexploitation, pollution and misuse related to the physical wellbeing of the water is astounding. New Zealanders should have first priority. The high quality water should be coming to us.
We’re approaching critical mass and instead of treating our water as a precious ta¯ onga to be nurtured and respected, it’s treated like an asset, used and abused as another avenue to generate revenue.
If we’re really serious about fixing our water problems then clean up our rivers, stop discharging effluent into our oceans, severely punish companies and organisations which intentionally pollute, fix our pipes and stop overseas companies from exporting our water.
We must do everything we can to protect our ta¯ onga, sustain them in a way that sees all communities benefit both environmentally and into the future. As philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist George Santayana once said: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
– Dinnie Moeahu is a New Plymouth District Councillor