Water Policy

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Introduction

Our environmental, social, and economic health relies on the prudent and sustainable use of water. Some New Zealanders remember a time when rivers were clean and teeming with a diversity of life. They provided sustenance to a variety of species. New Zealanders also swam in them and drank from them without fear of sickness. The Green Party believes that New Zealand's rivers need to be clean, sustainably managed, and fairly shared with other species.Water extraction and pollution have degraded many of our rivers. A large number of our nationally important rivers are threatened by large-scale hydro or irrigation proposals. Rivers and lakes all around the country are experiencing annual toxic algae blooms as a result of excessive nutrient inflows from the surrounding land from both fertiliser and effluent, and lower water flows due to increase take. Sewage and industrial wastewater continue to pollute many rivers. It is not just rivers and lakes, but our ground water aquifers are also diminishing in quantity and quality threatening some of the pure drinking water our citizens depend on. Waterways and public drinking water supplies are inadequately protected from the impacts of intensive land use. Rates of infection from waterborne diseases are far too high and pose a significant public health risk.

Definitions

"Commercial use" refers to all extractive water usage for capital gain or profit."Large scale storage schemes" refers to water storage schemes that:

• Involve the construction of large dams; and/or
• Affect multiple properties involving a public designation process and /or the Public Works Act.

A "large dam" includes any dam that is 15m or more high (from the foundation) and any dam between 5-15m high that has a reservoir volume exceeding 3 million cubic meters (As defined by the International Commission on Large Dams).

Vision

The Green Party envisions an approach to our water supply in which:

• All natural water systems are sustainably managed so that they maintain our unique freshwater biodiversity;
• The spiritual and recreational values of water are provided for in decisions about how we use water for other purposes;
• All water that is used is conserved and is not degraded by human use;
• Water that is collected, stored and distributed for use is safe and clean;
• Wild rivers are protected for their intrinsic ecological and landscape values, for example, the Mokihinui River;
• New Zealand is renowned for its wise and sustainable management of water.

Key Principles

1. Water is a taonga, and tangata whenua recognise each water body as having its own mauri, its own mana, values, and appropriate uses.
2. Water use in agriculture, horticulture and associated processing industries should be sustainable.
3. All extraction of water will not exceed the natural rate of replenishment, and will be managed in a sustainable, ecologically responsible manner.
4. Water management must be on an integrated catchment basis extending from the mountains to the sea.
5. All water must be returned to the environment in a state that supports natural ecological processes, and when it is returned, it must be of a quality as good as or better than that in which it was when it was taken.
6. Water is a public good and everyone has the right of access to a safe and secure supply of high quality, affordable water for drinking and sanitation.
7. The public supply of domestic water must be retained or returned to public ownership. Domestic water must not be treated as a commodity to be sold for profit.
8. All water users, both domestic and commercial, must be supported and encouraged to conserve water and 'do more with less'.

Specific Policy Points

1. Water Quality

Water quality is affected by pollution and contamination from intensive farming operations and commercial operations, as well as wastewater treatment and excessive extraction. Throughout the country there are problems with the monitoring and enforcement of resource consents relating to wastewater and effluent disposal. The Green Party will:

1. Ensure regional councils carry out requirements under the RMA to monitor the impacts of, and enforce resource consent conditions for, new developments and other activities with potential effects on water quality and aquatic ecosystems;
2. Amend the proposed National Policy Statement on water so that it includes specific targets and time frames for water quality ie. exactly when rivers need to reach a ‘swimmable and/or fishable’ standard;
3. Encourage councils to require land use resource consents for conversion to dairying or intensification of land use, and to set limits on nitrogen and phosphate run-off;
4. Work with industry to encourage the mass roll out of biodigesters to convert effluent with its potent greenhouse gases into electricity and fertiliser and less potent greenhouse gases. There is already a successful one in Canterbury. The reduction in emissions would be measured under the ETS and dairy emission obligation reduced creating a financial return for the farmer.
5. Establish a contestable dedicated fund to support sustainable land management practices on farms such as nutrient budgeting, planting of riparian margins, planting of headwaters in flood prone catchments, conversion to woodlots for sustainable management, as well as existing programmes such as Project Green. This will be funded by a levy on nitrogen and phosphate fertilisers and dollar for dollar matched funding by government;
6. Amend Section 107 of the RMA so that 'emergency' discharges into waterways only last until a clean and safe alternative is put into place so that the loophole that allows such waterway discharges to last 40 years is addressed;
7. Encourage the disposal of waste water to land where slope, soil type, and other conditions are appropriate, in preference to disposal to water.
8. Encourage local authorities to engage in collaborative investigation with local groups on developing a sustainable strategy to deal with bio-solids;
9. Require local authorities to implement a programme to keep storm water and wastewater separate;
10. Encourage councils to develop initiatives for safe disposal of liquid waste that might otherwise pollute waterways via storm water drains (e.g. provide liquid waste disposal points for such items as oil or paint);
11. Reduce the impact of roading and transport on water quality by:
    1. Establishing silt traps and appropriate filtration for water run off in priority areas along state highways and major roadways;
    2. Roadside planting in urban areas to absorb contaminants while taking into consideration road user and general safety;
    3. Require all land subdivision and road building works to include surface water management and the control of sediment run-off and erosion into local water waterways;
    4. Support initiatives to manage exotic waterfowl populations to decrease water pollution;
    5. Establish guidelines for industry on-site treatment of wastewater and heightened standards for trade waste that is deposited in ordinary sewers.

2. Commercial Use of Water

At the moment the rapid increase in the commercial use of water is placing immense pressure on ground and surface water ecosystems. Technological solutions to water shortages (e.g. storage dams) also have serious ecological and social implications. With scarcity of water a looming issue, there is increasing demand for more efficient ways of allocating water for commercial use, and this has put pressure for measures such as water trading mechanisms to be adopted which will result in further commodification of water. Because of the importance of water to public and environmental well being, the Green Party believes it is critical that the management and regulation of water (whether used by public or private bodies and when in natural or artificial water bodies) must remain under public control. This can be via central government and/or via regional/unitary or local councils, or via another public body set up by these bodies. This means that even when a council delegates authority for the management of a private or community water users group scheme they must still maintain control through the resource consent process.The Green Party will:

1. Ensure that water, itself, remains under public control and is managed through appropriate local, regional and national government mechanisms, even though the infrastructure for the provision of water may be privately or community owned;
2. Introduce mandatory metering on all water takes for commercial use;
3. Support regional councils/unitary authorities placing a 'resource use levy' on commercial users for all water used on a volume basis. Such a levy should reflect all direct and indirect costs of water management and monitoring and be structured in a way that encourages efficient use of water;
4. Support the establishment of 'catchment water user groups', allowing for the management of allocated water, including groundwater and surface water allocations, within defined catchments, including limited transfer arrangements between users;
5. Ensure regional councils and unitary authorities implement integrated catchment management plans which provide for environmental flows sustaining the ecological, hydrological and geomorphological functioning of the ecosystem, preservation of the mauri of the water body, provision for domestic and stock water use and fire fighting purposes prior to allowing an allocation for other extractive uses;
6. Ensure review clauses in integrated catchment management plans and resource consent applications provide for the opportunity to review water allocation if natural flow regimes change over time;
7. Support joint management initiatives for integrated catchment management on water bodies of importance to iwi;
8. Support initiatives for small scale out-of-river and on-farm water storage, after ensuring robust provision for environmental flows. This includes the creation of healthy wetland ecosystems as a water storage option;
9. Encourage the use of drought tolerant species or low water use options to reduce water use by farms in low rainfall areas;
10. Ensure large-scale storage schemes are in public or community ownership and management, and that such large-scale storage schemes are not developed just to permit high water uses in water short regions.

3. Conserving Water

The provision of safe, affordable water for drinking and sanitation is a basic human right. Non-essential use of water, such as filling pools and watering lawns, places stress on the public supply of water and increases the costs of providing water. In some parts of the country, high domestic and industrial use is rapidly reaching unsustainable levels and harming the environment. To encourage New Zealanders to use the minimum amount of water consistent with ensuring good health, the Green Party will:

1. Support councils to use water meters for each residence and commercial property, so that water use is monitored and recorded for educational purposes and promotion of water conservation and demand side management. This will be facilitated through the Ministry for the Environment's Sustainable Communities programme;
2. Allow councils to adopt a progressive charging system for water when deemed necessary. In such a system the first unit, which provides for commencement and continuation of water supply and reasonable personal consumption, will be funded from rating revenue and free of direct user charges, while additional units may incur progressively higher direct charges;
3. Investigate the use of the Social Security System to provide support for water charges for those in large households on low incomes;
4. Introduce a compulsory water conservation rating (similar to that used in Australia) on appliances that use water;
5. Provide finance for local authorities to encourage home owners to install technical water saving measures in existing homes;
6. Amend the building code to require installation of technical water saving measures in new houses;
7. Allow regional councils to set charges for agricultural and industrial water use (except drinking water for stock), and use the revenue to fund their sustainable management function;
8. Work with councils to develop community education programmes to encourage water conservation by all water users.

4. Water is a Public Good

The Greens will ensure that:

1. Key decisions about urban water supply, assets and operations remain under the control of elected bodies. This does not prevent councils contracting out various aspects of the service when they believe this offers better value to its residents but it does mean that the elected bodies will make decisions about prices, supply contracts, investments etc.