Nitrate levels in Southland’s water supplies are still present, Greenpeace says, after a weekend of testing brought out "interesting and concerning results".
The organisation was in Southland last weekend continuing their campaign of water testing and nitrate awareness around the region, surveying about 70 water samples in Mataura, Ōtautau and Lumsden.
Freshwater campaigner Will Applebe said there was an interesting range of results and some real cause for concern for residents.
"In Lumsden, there was water testing at around 6mg/l which is a real concern. That’s potentially putting people at long-term risk of bowel cancer, and also a risk for preterm birth, for people who might be pregnant.
"So those are some really concerning figures.
"We also had some people on private water as well whose water was really high, above 10mg/l," he said.
A Greenpeace spokesperson said rates in Mataura sat at around 1.4mg/l, which is within acceptable ranges for consumption.
Mr Applebe said 80% of New Zealand has a nitrate level below 1% and said Greenpeace was not happy about the responses from authorities in the region to combat this issue.
"We’re not seeing the regional councils or frankly central government take the issue with the seriousness it deserves.
"It’s why we’ve called on Environment Southland to call an emergency to make the changes we need to see," he said.
For Mr Applebe it was not just a reduction of herd sizes and the transition from synthetic nitrogen fertilisers, but also a move towards more transparency around nitrate levels, such as councils making their nitrate testing levels publicly available.
"We’ve seen Gore District Council start to do this, they’ve got a graph on their website which shows the test results from their town supply.
"I’d really like to see other district councils follow, like Southland," he said.
Mr Applebe said there were no plans to continue further testing, but Greenpeace would continue their campaign until the issue was resolved.
Southland District Council was not able to provide a response before deadline.
