Unswimmable: Two-thirds of monitored NZ river sites grade poorly for E. coli contamination
A just-released snapshot paints another worrying picture for New Zealand’s rivers, with two-thirds of monitored sites graded poorly for harmful E. coli.
Data published this morning by the collaborative Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (Lawa) project also showed some troubling trends for our lakes – of which 60 per cent were being plighted by algal and plant growth stemming from nutrient pollution.
While there were signs of gradual improvement in some indicators, the latest results, showing data from and up to 2022, suggest more effort is needed to turn the trends around.
As Queenstown hilariously choke on their water pollution, we now hear two thirds of monitored rivers are polluted by intensive farming, it’s time to reflect on how 3 Waters was manufactured into an existential race war.
You know what the most clever trick in the 3 Waters Culture War is?
It’s not how commercial agricultural interests have funded culture war groups to denigrate the debate into ‘Maaaaaaari is stealing da water’.
It’s not how Iwi had a whole bunch of fish hooks added into the guts of the legislation that give them veto powers in the The Te Mana o Te Wai statements.
And it’s not how Chinese Business Banks have led delegations to Scotland to copy their water structures which ultimately make them easier to privatise.
Oh no.
It’s none of those tricks (although those tricks are neat), No. The pure genius of 3 Waters is the total focus on pipes and drains which amount to 1% of water ways. All the streams, lakes, rivers that are heavily polluted aren’t really part of this.
This won’t make those water ways safer.
We have 10million cows in this country.
Each cow shits the same as 14 humans.
That’s 140 humans pissing and shitting into every water way we have throughout NZ.
3 Waters focuses only on the existing infrastructure of water in this country, that does jack shit to stop the agricultural industry from polluting everything else.
We have been tricked into arguments over water infrastructure ownership without dealing with the current waste being pumped into our waterways.
The planet is burring and we continue to fiddle.
Which is the way the corporate agricultural industry wants it!
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Our rivers have been polluted for a long time – why the fcuk has nothing been done – oh that’s right, we’ve got climate change to worry about, we’ll just kick the pollution can forever down the road. The costs of dealing with climate change supersedes the costs of dealing with pollution, bearing in mind that we are the ones who ultimately will bear these costs. The capitalist class refuses to pay for their polluting ways, but they know all too well, that passing this cost on to us while aiming to pass climate change costs on to us, is perhaps just a bridge to far, for time being. The capitalist class has bigger goals in mind, hence why pollution, which we all can clearly see, is on the rise….
is it greenies pissing and shitting in our watercourses or is it farming AO?
What matters is the lack of political will to do anything about pollution. Why is that? Why do we champion climate change initiatives and yet turn our backs on the shyt happening in our own backyards! My answer, surprise, surprise, not, our politicians do not serve the interests of the people (except for finding rabbits out of their holes come election time). Our politicians serve the interests of the powerful moneyed class, where climate change is their baby while pollution is something they have always run away from. This juxtaposition is telling because both problems impact us all and yet one is championed and one is ignored. Something ain’t right here….
Again….you are asking the wrong question. Everything that we have to deal with passes or fails off the backs of politicians so direct your question to them, namely, why, why do they not give a fuck about pollution? We, are dealing with two issues, our politicians are fixated on one of these issues, but the other – pollution – they turn their backs on.
Who influences the actions of our politicians is thee most important question of our time!
Once again as all those wankers from Groundswell gather for their whinge fest, all of the damage they are doing to this country gets ignored. Try and do something about the damage and you are somehow a communist which speaks volumes of the intellect of some of those tossers.
Exactly..
That’s a succinct description of the problem.
once again nz apes the ‘mother country’
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