Our freshwater 2020

A common phrase that is repeated is water is life. And this is not wrong. Without water, there can be no life. From humans to plants to the tiniest microorganisms, water is an integral part of life. That is why we must place immense value and importance on the health of our freshwater ecosystems.

And it does appear to be an important issue to New Zealanders. In a recent poll, water pollution ranked as the number one concern with 82 percent of participants saying that they wanted their waterways to be protected. This outranked issues such as the housing crisis and child poverty.

In 2019, the environment minister of New Zealand said that two-thirds of all rivers in New Zealand are unswimmable and three-quarters of the native freshwater fish are threatened with extinction.

This year, the Ministry of Environment alongside Stats NZ released the report Our freshwater 2020.

This publication evaluates the issues facing our freshwater ecosystems in New Zealand, the impact that human behaviour is having on water, and how we can perhaps mitigate this.

The report is broken down to address four issues;

Issue One: Our native freshwater species and ecosystems are under threat

Issue Two: Water is polluted in urban, farming, and forestry areas

Issue Three: Changing water flows affect our freshwater

Issue Four: Climate change is affecting freshwater in Aotearoa New Zealand

Let’s now explore these four issues together, team.

**Issue One:**
**Our native freshwater species and ecosystems are under threat**

New Zealand has many unique native flora and flora that call freshwater habitats home sweet home. Human industries, such as factories, farming, forestry, and fishing, and manmade infrastructure such as dams or weirs can have a significant negative impact on these creatures.

In 2017, 76 percent of our native freshwater fish were classified as either threatened with or at risk of extinction. New Zealand has already experienced an extinction of a native freshwater fish, this being the grayling. One thing that may have contributed to this extinction was the introduction of the trout.

In 2018, 25 percent of native freshwater invertebrates were threatened or at risk and 33 percent of native freshwater plants were threatened or at risk. Some of our native birds also rely on our freshwater ecosystem, and 66 percent of these freshwater dependent birds are either threatened or at risk. As you can see, we are in a precarious situation with our native flora and fauna and the state of our freshwater is integral to the survival of any species.

We have ravaged our land since calling New Zealand home; making the lives of our native species difficult. Since arrival, we have drained 90 percent of our wetlands and harvested so much of our native forest, that we only have 1/3 remaining. Clearing the way for farmland and urban settlement. Fishing has a direct impact on these creatures, especially when fishing threatened species with high age of sexual maturity such as the longfin eel.

**Issue Two:**
**Water is polluted in urban, farming, and forestry areas**

Human use of land, be it urban, farming, or forestry, can have a direct impact on the quality of the water nearby. By-products from these kinds of land use, nutrients, pollutants, chemicals, sediment and pathogens, all impact freshwater ecosystems.

Urban - Most rivers in urban areas are polluted. They can make people sick if affected with pathogens.

Farming - Most rivers in farming areas are polluted. Between 1994-2017, the number of dairy cattle increased by 70 percent. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are found in high concretions around farmland. Nitrogen leaching is when more nitrogen is released into the soil, then can be absorbed. Cattle exert a lot of nitrogen as they produce a lot of urine. This excess nitrogen can then outflow to waterways, in turn polluting them. In 2005, a study found that 37 percent of nitrogen entering the sea came from dairy farming.

Forestry - Most rivers in forestry areas are polluted. What are the effects of planting hundreds and thousands of trees, then cutting them all down, and starting again. Damage to the environment. The fertilisers that are spread out after felling the previous trees can enter rivers and streams. These fertilisers are often high in nitrogen and phosphorus. Felling these trees also increases erosion, and loose sediment enters the waterways.

These excesses in nutrients can result in algae bloom. Algae bloom depletes oxygen in the waterways. Oxygen that the native flora and fauna rely on. Dogs are also often attracted to the smell of some algae bloom and will become ill if they eat it.

**Issue Three:**
**Changing water flows affect our freshwater**

New Zealand has thousands of dams, with around one hundred of these being used for electricity generation the others for irrigation, flood control and industrial/domestic use.

Now imagine you are a fish. Bear with me here. You are a fish, swimming along the river. You have come a long way, at this point you have swam for hundreds and hundreds of kilometres until you suddenly hit a strange hard barrier. Something solid and smooth and dead that will not let you pass and complete your journey to where your instincts are driving you to be.

This is one such fate of our Longfin eel. A fish that relies on migration to complete its life cycle. They swim down river to the sea, eventually making it to Tonga to lay their eggs and die. Then the young elvers (baby eels) make their journey back to New Zealand, up the river to become adult eels and remain until it is their time to return to Tonga to reproduce and die.

Having obstructions such as dams impacts this natural migration process. They can not overcome a dam, so they can not make it upstream without human intervention, or if they are ready to make their way downstream, fat with eggs, they get mulched by the turbines present in hydro-dams. The Waikato River alone has seven hydro dams dotted along its winding path, a tumultuous often deadly journey for many eels.

**Issue Four:**
**Climate change is affecting freshwater in Aotearoa New Zealand**

This issue pertains to the impact that rising greenhouse gasses has on our freshwater. This is an important issue as the concentration of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere is increasing due to fossil fuels. Climate change may impact our freshwater species, as many of them are very temperature sensitive. Estuaries, wetlands and lagoons are also sensitive to changing climate, and coastal erosion and rising sea levels could impact the salinity of these ecosystems, or have them lost all together.

Local Auckland Case Studies

Cox’s Bay has built up a certain reputation as a place that is a bit polluted and you may grow gills if you fall into the creek around those parts. On Auckland Council’s Swimsafe site, it lists Cox Bay as an unsafe place to swim due to high risk of illness from swimming. So, unless you want a bout of ecoli or worse, it would be best to avoid this swimming hole. Walking around the area, I noticed signs of poor water quality. There were actual signs, but there was also discoloured water and less than pleasant aromas wafting up from the water. There was also a rainbow colouring on the surface of some parts of water, which can be an indictor of an oil pollution.

I caught wind of a situation at Hobson Bay, by the Remuera crowd kicking up a stink. And a stink was actually what was going down in Remuera. Hobson Bay smelled like sewage. People were also finding dead eels and sewage on their daily walks around the Bay which was. quite alarming for many.

I was intrigued and went out to Hobson Bay to investigate.

These signs definitely show that this is not a place for a quick dip. Unless you want your feet to become webbed.

I wish that I had a smell-a-vision camera to show you how much this place smelled. It smelled like poop and death. I also found a dead pukeko in a tree, which was alarming. As this may be a sign that this water is toxic to wildlife. During my walk alone, I meet with herons, pied stilts, kingfishers, mallards, and paradise ducks. In other words, a lot of wildlife.

How can you help freshwater ecosystems?

It is not all gloom and doom though. When you read reports like this, sometimes it is easy to feel powerless against the tidal wave of ecological damage and disaster. But take heart, reader, while our actions may seem like drops in the bucket, a lot of drops in the bucket can cause a big splash. There are things we can do now, me and you, to aid in the health of the freshwater ecosystem.

Natural Products

So. You are in the shower, lathering your hair up with that delicious smelling shampoo that kind of smells like coconuts and sea salt. All that lather, then goes down the drain. Then where does it go?

Even though most domestic water use goes through water treatment, in some parts of Auckland the stormwater and sewage system are not separated. So during downpours, these older systems will discharge into streams. Along with anything you have recently put down the drain, be it shampoo, laundry detergent, or soap.

There are so many eco-friendly products out there for you to try. For your hair, dishes, or laundry.

My favorites (not sponsored, just really like them)

Personal Hygiene - https://www.dirtyhippie.co.nz/

Dishes and laundry - https://ecostore.com/nz/

Water Control

Guys. I think it is about time we spoke about an important issue. You waste water. You have been having too long showers, left the tap on while brushing your teeth, forgot to turn the hose off when watering the garden, or you're one of those people who actually water the lawn (strange). Water is gold. And it is also not an infinite resource. We need to learn that our actions have an impact. That our hunger for resources, such as fuel, water, electricity, has an impact. That these resources have to come from somewhere. That they are not just made from nothing. A process is needed to make sure that you have water coming out of your tap. Saving water can put less pressure on the freshwater ecosystems that supply said water to your showers and sinks.

Water saving tips

Have a shorter shower
Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth
Only run the dishwasher or clothes-washer when full
Dry your clothes on the line outside, rather than putting them in the dryer
Saving water in the shower, by using a bucket. This can then be used on the garden.

A local river clean up

Your local river or stream may be heavily polluted. Be it from urban runoff, rubbish, or noxious There are many groups out there who are doing their part to try and restore these ecosystems. Taking part in this can be very rewarding. Even if it is an afternoon of your time, give it a go. Who knows, you may even have fun.

Education

Read. Read. Read some more. Read reports like Our Freshwater 2020. Listen or read environment news. Get familiar with what is happening with the environment here in New Zealand, or in your own country. Knowledge is power. Understanding the situation can help you make a change in the situation. Talk to your friends, mum, dad, second cousin once removed as well about all the interesting things you have learnt from reading/watching/listening.

The full Our Freshwater 2020 report can be found here. Give it a read. It is interesting, folks: https://www.mfe.govt.nz/overview-our-freshwater-2020

Conservation, Environment, eco, Issuesathena rhodesMay 3, 2020