Waikato River - Alfred Burton circa 1885
I'm with Tainui on this one.
"Dairy company Fonterra wants to quadruple its wastewater discharge into the Waikato River at Hautapu, but faces strong opposition from Tainui and downstream water users.
Waikato-Tainui is among 18 submitters to the resource consent process, of which 11 are opposed."
"If consent for the new multi-million dollar waste treatment facility at the Hautapu dairy factory site near Cambridge is granted, 10,000 cubic metres per day of treated effluent would be discharged into the river.
This would be a four-fold increase on the existing 2500 cubic metres per day Fonterra is currently allowed to release at the site.
Both Auckland and Hamilton draw their water supplies from the Waikato River."
So, a four-fold increase in discharge into the place where many Aucklanders and Hamiltonians get their drinking water - how off is that?
"In its submission, Tainui asked for Fonterra's Hautapu applications to be "declined in their entirety" because they would "severely impact on the health and well-being of the Waikato River". "
"An Environment Waikato report released last year noted levels of nitrogen and phosphorus had increased in many of the region's rivers in the past 10-15 years, and 70 per cent of the region's waterways were not considered safe for swimming."
Well that seems like at least two good reasons to stop the application. I hope the views of tainui are considered with the weight they deserve.
"Dairy company Fonterra wants to quadruple its wastewater discharge into the Waikato River at Hautapu, but faces strong opposition from Tainui and downstream water users.
Waikato-Tainui is among 18 submitters to the resource consent process, of which 11 are opposed."
"If consent for the new multi-million dollar waste treatment facility at the Hautapu dairy factory site near Cambridge is granted, 10,000 cubic metres per day of treated effluent would be discharged into the river.
This would be a four-fold increase on the existing 2500 cubic metres per day Fonterra is currently allowed to release at the site.
Both Auckland and Hamilton draw their water supplies from the Waikato River."
So, a four-fold increase in discharge into the place where many Aucklanders and Hamiltonians get their drinking water - how off is that?
"In its submission, Tainui asked for Fonterra's Hautapu applications to be "declined in their entirety" because they would "severely impact on the health and well-being of the Waikato River". "
"An Environment Waikato report released last year noted levels of nitrogen and phosphorus had increased in many of the region's rivers in the past 10-15 years, and 70 per cent of the region's waterways were not considered safe for swimming."
Well that seems like at least two good reasons to stop the application. I hope the views of tainui are considered with the weight they deserve.
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