Media Release
20th March, 2012

New report a straight-forward guide to water quality

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright , has released her new report on the science of water quality today.

The report, Water quality in New Zealand: Understanding the science, is intended to provide decision makers and the wider public with an understanding of the science underlying New Zealand’s water quality issues.

Dr Wright says she hopes the report will help explain water quality problems and solutions.

“There’s a lot of heat in the water quality debate but hopefully this report will provide some light.

“In my report I have not simply provided lists of sources of pollutants and their effects but tried to explain as simply as possible why a particular pollutant causes particular effects. And why a particular intervention may or may not be effective.

“Without understanding the cause-effect relationships uncovered by scientists, we cannot make sensible decisions about what to do.

“The report is written in plain English and is designed to be an easy-to-use resource.”

ENDS

A copy of the report is available here
[Scoop copy: PCEWaterQualityinNewZealand.pdf]

A youtube video of Dr Wright talking about the report is available here

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