In
New Zealand the maximum acceptable value for nitrate in
drinking water is 11.3 mg/L
Both these limits are
considered toxic for human babies less than 6 months
old.
In Canterbury the Canterbury Regional Council,
(Ecan), is responsible for managing the region’s
freshwater quality, quantity, and ecosystems through
managing land use.
Ecan has delegated this
responsibility to the Canterbury Water Management Strategy,
(CWMS), with its 10 Water Zone Committees created primarily
to oversee freshwater management for the purpose of
increasing the scale and efficiency of irrigation in the
region.
Over a Million Cows
Massive irrigation
development in Canterbury has seen dairy cow numbers rise
Sunday, 17 January 2021, 3:29 pm
A drastic decline in an important native fish in New
Zealand has been matched by a similar decline in a similar
species in the USA.
On the east coast of the South
Island Stokell’s smelt is the species of the rivers of the
Canterbury coastline, which until relatively recently,
occurred in huge numbers from about Canterbury’s Waiau
River south to North Otago s Waitaki River.
However
depletion of river flows due to irrigation in rivers such as
the Rangitata, Ashburton, and Rakaia Rivers where the smelt
was most abundant, has seen a drastic decline in numbers,