NZ rivers fail sediment targets despite natural state

The review, carried out by independent consultants Torlesse Environmental Ltd for Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ), also found that around 44% of all sheep and beef farmland would need to be “retired”, along with other extensive mitigations, if the national bottom lines (NBLs) for fine sediment were enforced.

“Even if these measures were taken, around half of the catchments currently below the NBLs would remain below them”, the report states.

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The review of published literature indicates that around 20% of waterways coming out of catchments in their natural state – for example National Parks – do not currently meet the suspended fine sediment NBLs.

B+LNZ chair Kate Acland is now calling for urgent changes to the sediment and E. coli attributes and national NBLs which she claimed are “flawed”, “not achievable” and “trying to achieve them will decimate farming and rural communities”.

The New Zealand government has pushed out the date that regional councils can notify a plan to implement the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (NPS-FM) and said it will amend the NPS-FM.

However, Acland said that the NPS-FM is still in place and many regional councils are continuing with their planning processes based on the current attribute bands and NBLs.

The farm organisation is recommending the suspended fine sediment attribute and 95th percentile E. coli states are removed as an interim measure.

It said that this is allow for “urgent work” on the replacement of the NPS-FM and “the development of a more appropriate national framework for managing suspended fine sediment and E. coli“.

The review stated that the suspended fine sediment NBLs were based on the impacts to a small number of indigenous fish species and brown trout which are highly susceptible to sediment.

It said that the using recent modelled sediment data (not measured data) paired with fish abundance surveys beginning in the 1970s has “significant uncertainty”.

The consultants also said that the inclusion of the 95th percentile statistics without allowing regional councils to exclude data collected during heavy rainfall and floods is an issue because these must be included.

They said that most mitigations are less effective during high flow from heavy rainfall events, so it can be very difficult to meet the requirement to improve from one E. coli attribute state band to the next.

The B+LNZ chair acknowledged that sheep and beef farming can have an impact on freshwater quality and that this needs to be managed.

“However, the way this is currently being done has some significant issues and will have massive implications for our sector, so it’s vital we get it right,” Acland said.

B+LNZ said that retiring 44% of sheep and beef farmland in order to meet the target could cost New Zealand’s economy NZ$3.9 billion per year in reduced sheepmeat and beef exports.

“That’s more than double the annual value of wine exports and more than double the value of fish exports.

“There would also be significant flow-on effects, with the likely closure of associated businesses such as meat processing works and farm supply and servicing businesses, and of rural schools, community services and more. That will devastate rural communities,” Acland said.

B+LNZ added that pole planting and additional fencing of waterways could cost over NZ$1.4 billion to implement.

“These are eye-watering and hugely concerning numbers for our sector, and for New Zealand,” Acland said.

“This review supports the urgent need for a fundamental rethink of the management framework for suspended fine sediment and E. coli.

“We need to act before regional freshwater plans become operative on the basis of these flawed NBLs,” she added.