February 28, 2018
Seepage puts pure spring at risk
A Ngati Tama kaumatua says the Takaka tribe's treaty settlement didn't go far enough which is why it needs to seek extra protection for the world's clearest spring.
John Ward Holmes is encouraging supporters to put in submissions to the Environmental Protection Agency before March 14 to bolster the application for a water conservation order over Te Waikoropupu Springs.
He says the iwi got an overlay in its settlement meaning local councils have to consult over changes to the springs but that doesn't go far enough.
Private tests have shown levels of nitrates in groundwater are increasing and the springs are at the centre of a complex and delicate hydrocological system.
"The water runs below the mountain through the limestone aquifer right down the Takaka Valley and emerges at the springs. We know there are recharge areas in some places where the water can seep from a waterway through the gravels and into that aquifer. Pollution, nitrates or whatever, can seep through and destroy the beautiful clear water that comes from there now," Mr Ward-Holmes says.
JOHN WARD HOLMES FULL INTERVIEW
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