Latest water-quality results the best ever

2 May 2013

Water-quality trends in the region are the best they’ve ever been, latest Taranaki Regional Council environmental monitoring results show.

The Council says its latest water-quality report points to stability or improvement being found at more monitored sites, and in more measures, with only a couple of measures at a couple of sites still showing deterioration.

The report on the physical and chemical state of the region’s waterways, based on results of monitoring in the 2011-2012 year and analysing medium- and long-term trends, was presented to the Taranaki Regional Council’s Policy and Planning Committee today (2 May).

Highlights include a halt in previously worsening nutrient levels, and improvements at many sites. Every measure of organic contaminants, bacteria and aesthetic quality at every site now shows only improvement or stability, not deterioration, over the most recent seven years.

The Council’s Chairman, David MacLeod, is delighted the report shows Taranaki’s waterways keep on getting better. He says it vindicates the efforts of not just the Council, but the entire Taranaki community.

“For example, one of the strongest improvements over the past 17 years has been in the lower Waingongoro River – after industry and the community have made big investments so that meatworks and municipal effluent is no longer discharged into the waterway,” he says.

“It’s efforts like this that ensure Taranaki will continue to enjoy a good-quality environment going into the future.”

The Council’s Director-Environment Quality, Gary Bedford, says the latest report shows that across all results at all sites, there are now only two trend results, found at different sites, that are still showing a highly significant deterioration, with another five results showing deterioration of lesser significance.

“In total, there are 144 trend results at 13 sites. So less than 5% are showing deterioration,” he says.

The report also touches on the ecological health of Taranaki’s waterways, noting continued stability or improvement. A more detailed report on stream health is expected in the next six weeks.

Physicochemical state of Taranaki waterways – in a nutshell:

• Sites sampled monthly and analysed for up to 22 parameters including organic contamination, bacteriological quality, appearance, nutrient levels, conductivity, pH and temperature.

• 17-year and seven-year data trends have been analysed – the shorter, more recent period allows assessment of the current impact of the Regional Fresh Water Plan for Taranaki (adopted in 2001).

• Over 17 years, 34 of 50 measures for nutrients at 10 sites (68%) show a stable or improving trend. Over the most recent seven years, 48 of 50 measures for nutrients (96%) show a stable (82%) or improving (14%) trend.

• Over 17 years, 17 of 20 measures of bacterial levels (85%) show a stable or improving trend. Over the most recent seven years, 20 of 20 measures of bacterial levels (100%) show a stable (90%) or improving (10%) trend.

• Over 17 years, nine of 10 measures of organic contamination (90%) a stable or improving trend. Over the most recent seven years, 10 of 10 measures of organic contamination (100%) show a stable trend.

• Over 17 years, 15 of 20 measures of aesthetic quality (75%) show a stable or improving trend. Over the most recent seven years, 20 of 20 measures of aesthetic quality (100%) show a stable trend.

The full report: Freshwater Physicochemical Programme State of the Environment Monitoring Annual Report 2011-2012 (1.6 MB)

www.trc.govt.nz

ENDS

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