“Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and, therefore, a basic human right. Contaminated water jeopardises both the physical and social health of all people.”
– Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General.
Everyone should have access to clean and safe drinking water. No one should get sick, let alone risk developing cancer, because the water from their kitchen tap is contaminated.
But right now in Aotearoa, people are getting sick from their drinking water. The increase in intensive livestock farming, in particular dairying, and the synthetic fertiliser that fuels it, is contaminating our water with pathogens and nitrates.
Our water systems are interconnected – rivers and lakes feed aquifers that replenish the groundwater supplies that 40% of New Zealanders rely on for their drinking water – Therefore sick rivers lead to sick people. While the most impacted communities are rural people on household bore water supplies, contamination threatens all groundwater supplies including reticulated water such as the Christchurch town supply sourced from the Canterbury aquifer.
Nitrate is the most widespread contaminant found in our water and is linked to acute and chronic illness. The biggest sources of nitrate contamination into Aotearoa’s water is urine from dairy cows, urine from sheep, and synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. The largest sources of pathogens in our water are grazing livestock.
Nitrate in drinking water at levels far below the current 11.3mg/L limit is linked to increased risks of colorectal cancer and preterm birth. Scientists warn that 100 cases of colorectal cancer and 40 deaths per year in New Zealand could be attributed to nitrate in drinking water. US scientists found that there was nearly a 50% increase in risk of preterm birth for pregnant people drinking water with nitrate concentrations above 5 mg/L. We must act to protect our drinking water – read the submission for more information, and sign the petition below to add your name.
Here is the Joint submission on the National Environment Standards for Drinking water by Greenpeace Aotearoa, Forest & Bird, Fish & Game, Choose Clean Water, Wise Response. It is supported by: The Cancer Society, EDS, Organics Association of NZ, ECO, Generation Zero, Coal Action Network, Seniors Climate Action Network.
Call on the Government to lower the limit for nitrates in drinking water to safe levels
