Water testing of locals' bore water found that Mid-Canterbury's water was "loaded" with nitrate contamination, according to the group. The current limit in New Zealand follows the World Health Organisation guidelines, for 11.3mg per litre of water. "It's difficult and costly to remove nitrate from drinking water, the best thing obviously is to stop it from getting in there in the first place. Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, the Environmental Defence Society and Choose Clean Water have called for the Government to lower the level for nitrate water contamination to be lowered from 11.3 to 0.87mg per litre of water. "Unfortunately, nitrate contamination is a growing concern for people in areas with intensive dairying, such as Canterbury, Southland and Waikato.

Source: Otago Daily Times July 10, 2021 22:52 UTC