Media Release

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22 October 2013

Avoiding panic on Canterbury’s water quality

Federated Farmers believes comments on the safety of drinking water, attributed to the Officer of Health for Canterbury, Dr Alistair Humphrey and given extensive coverage in The Press, is causing unnecessary alarm.

“We would prefer to engage with Dr Humphrey direct instead of through the media, but given the volume of media calls and some of the reporting we need to speak up,” says Chris Allen, Federated Farmers Mid-Canterbury provincial president.

“We have been informed by the Ashburton District Council that water supplied by them to residents in the Ashburton, Hinds and the larger urban areas of Mid-Canterbury, is of high quality and meets New Zealand’s Drinking Water Standards. 

“If the water from your taps is from a municipal supply then your water is safe, otherwise, you would be told not to consume it. 

“Ecan confirms that 89 percent of wells sampled by it have nitrate concentrations below New Zealand Drinking Water Standards’ maximum acceptable values. Wells with nitrate levels above the New Zealand Drinking Water standard are principally in shallow aquifers and privately owned.

“Federated Farmers is not saying Dr. Humphrey may not have a valid point, but he would have been wise to have properly qualified his comments and communicated directly with those who may be at risk. 

“I do not believe freaking out much of Canterbury is the best way to communicate to our rural communities. 

“We are certainly committed to doing our bit to minimise the loss of Nitrates and Nitrogen from the farm system.  If there are issues we need to own them and work towards solutions. It is fair to say Nitrates is a complicated beast and we are working hard to resolve agriculture’s contribution.

“If it is a case of facilitating contact with those rural groups at risk about testing regimes, then Federated Farmers would be delighted to assist,” Mr Allen added.

Federated Farmers Vice-President, Dr William Rolleston, who is a medical doctor by profession, expressed his concern for how this has been conveyed to the media.

“Any responsible clinician is careful to avoid emotion and instead focus on fact because it is easy to create panic,” Dr Rolleston said.

“While Blue Baby Syndrome, the concern Dr Humphrey harbours is uncommon in developed countries,  its reduced incidence is not purely attributable to lower nitrates in drinking water, but also to other factors, such as a lower risk of gastric infection. 

“Other substances reported to induce methaemoglobinaemia (Blue Baby Syndrome) are found in matches, room deodorisers, nail care products and wood smoke.   Nitrate levels in water are not necessarily from agriculture either, so the picture is not as simple as Dr Humphrey has painted.

“Ecan’s annual sampling, which was the touchstone for Dr Humphrey, is deliberately taken in spring which represents the yearly worst case.  The Canterbury Land and Water strategy has already identified that nitrogen needs to be properly managed and this is being done as the strategy is implemented. 

“Federated Farmers will be writing to Dr Humphrey to ask him to provide the robust science which can justify the nature of his statements. 

“We would welcome a conversation with him so that any risk can be put into perspective, farmer’s contribution can be correctly identified and where necessary, the risk can be mitigated in a responsible way,” Dr Rolleston concluded.

ENDS

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