March 16, 2017
Iwi fights for Nelson spring purity
The South island iwi Ngati Tama is fighting efforts by a water bottling company to bottle the purest water ever measured in the Southern Hemisphere.
It has asked the High Court to review a Tasman District Council consent allowing Kahurangi Virgin Waters to drill a bore into the aquifer feeding Te Waikoropupu Springs.
Kahurangi Virgin Waters hasn't used the first consent it got 13 years ago, and Ngati Tama ki Te Waipounamu Trust general manager Frans van Boekhout says changed circumstances mean it shouldn't have been given the revised consent last year.
These include increased pressure of water for irrigation, the effect of dairy farming on ground water, and the treaty settlement with Ngati Tama which included specific reference to the springs.
"We’ve got a cultural overlay over Te Waikoropupu Springs and you would think the iwi would have been notified prior to that decision being taken by the council," Mr van Boekhout says.
Ngati Tama fears any action that could affect the unique microorganisms that make the spring so clear.
FULL INTERVIEW WITH FRANS VAN BOEKHOUT
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