Greenpeace challenges MPs to drink nitrate-contaminated water at Parliament
Nitrate contamination in drinking water isn’t some abstract rural issue — it’s a political decision being made in full view of Parliament. Greenpeace forcing MPs to confront it — literally — might be the most honest public health test this Government has faced in years.
Greenpeace Aotearoa has installed a mobile bar serving nitrate-contaminated water on Parliament lawn, and is calling on MPs to lower the nitrate limit in drinking water.
Greenpeace Aotearoa Agriculture Campaigner Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn says, “Today, we’ve brought nitrate-contaminated water from rural homes in Southland in Canterbury, directly to the people in government. We’re asking MPs if they’ll drink the same contaminated water that rural families are forced to drink because of outdated government policies.”
So, will MPs drink the water they expect everyone else to?
Greenpeace has installed a mobile bar offering samples of nitrate-contaminated water on parliament lawn. The bar is offering samples from parts of the country most impacted by nitrate contamination.
“We should all be able to trust that the water coming out of our kitchen tap is safe to drink. But right now, it’s perfectly legal for a town to supply its residents with water that could lead to an increased risk in bowel cancer, or pre-term birth. Only the Government can change that.”
What nitrate contamination actually does to your body
Nitrate contamination at levels as low as one mg/L has been linked to an increased risk of bowel cancer. At levels of five mg/L, there is an increased risk of preterm birth for pregnant people drinking the water.
New Zealand’s legal limit (maximum allowable value) for nitrate in drinking water is 11.3 mg/L – a level set in the 1950’s in response to Blue Baby Syndrome. Rural drinking water is increasingly exceeding this limit — which Greenpeace says is already too high.
“It’s simple, the current nitrate limit in New Zealand is dangerously high. It’s out of date and does not sufficiently protect families from the very serious risks associated with nitrate in drinking water.”
The leading cause of nitrate contamination in groundwater and drinking water is cow urine from the oversized dairy herd and synthetic nitrogen fertiliser used by the intensive dairy industry.
“Successive governments have facilitated pollution from the intensive dairy industry, but this has to stop. People’s lives are at stake. The government must prioritise the health of all New Zealanders over dairy industry profits and lower the nitrate limit now.”
Nothing will change. Nitrates are here forever. Successive governments only care about generating $$. Intensive farming of cows represent the majority of this issue, and many more conversions comming for Canterbury. The nitrate emergency declaration has not yielded any worthwhile solutions. Our rivers are also in massive decline. Let’s just sit on our hands and hope it all just goes away. I’m no great Green Party fan, but they seem to be the only ones with the ability to grasp how serious this is.