Glenavy water

A 2015 paper warned the shift from border dyke to pivot irrigation would put the Waitaki northern fan catchment on course for repeated breaches of the maximum allowable limit for drinking water.

“That paper, and other predictions done on modelling of the grey water footprint of dairy by Dr Mike Joy [et al] shows the aquifer across the many parts of Canterbury is on a trajectory to being undrinkable,” said Abel.

‘‘You’ve got a whole lot of people, thousands of people on household bore supplies – are you expecting each of them to fork out thousands of dollars to denitrify water from contamination they didn’t cause?’’

He said the burden of costs will also fall on councils and ratepayers.

‘‘You’re talking about each little district council having to fork out millions of dollars to build denitrification plants for pollution they didn’t cause?’’

‘‘It’s kind of a fundamental question – is it acceptable that for a particular form of very intensive dairy farming this whole region of New Zealand is prepared to sacrifice its drinking water?’’