Concerns over waterways mount
New Zealand’s waterways are in a worse state than most people realise, an expert says.
A meeting about the impact of Selwyn’s polluted waterways, organised by advocacy group SWWIM, attracted about 150 people to the Lincoln High School hall last night.
Speakers included freshwater ecologist Professor Russell Death, Canterbury medical officer of health Dr Alistair Humphrey, farm consultant Dr Alison Dewes and farmer Rick Burke.
There has been heightened interest in the district’s rivers and lakes, some of which are polluted, and the meeting channelled frustrations with water quality issues in the catchment.
On Wednesday, it was revealed Environment Canterbury had told the Government every dairy farm in the district would need to be retired for Lake Ellesmere to meet national water quality targets.
Other points of concern have been the Selwyn River, which is polluted and dried up entirely at Coes Ford over summer.
Fish and Game environmental adviser Scott Pearson said the aim was to look at the situation, acknowledge the work being done, and identify improvements needed.
‘‘I think we’re locked in a vicious cycle in this catchment,’’ he said. ‘‘We’ve got state-sponsored and bank-sponsored pollution, we’ve got rivers drying up . . . we’re finding that a significant amount of public money is needed to clean it up.’’
He said it was important to recognise positive changes being made by farmers, but more needed to be done.
Death said giving these types of talks was depressing.
‘‘Things seem to get worse and worse every time I do one.’’
He painted a gloomy picture of New Zealand’s rivers, which he said were in a far worse state than most people realised.
He criticised the Government’s approach to freshwater, which he said did very little to protect waterway ecosystems.