A Southland Regional Council report released earlier this year highlighted the issue in that area, where an estimated 15,000 Southlanders could be drinking water polluted by nitrates. That report said nitrate concentrations in groundwater frequently exceeded 3.5 mg/L and in some places exceeded the New Zealand drinking water standard of 11.3 mg/L. More than half of Southland's domestic drinking water supply wells were estimated to have nitrate concentrations above 3.5 mg/L. But despite years of dismal reports on water quality, these issues are not being handled urgently or cohesively. Other countries who had experienced similar declines had been able to make huge gains in their freshwater quality, he said.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 12, 2026 17:58 UTC