Drinking water
The quality and quantity of drinking water supplies depends on the management of point sources and non-point sources of contaminants in drinking water supply catchments and aquifers, land-use in the catchment or recharge area and on the treatment provided by the territorial authority.
Here's how things are progressing against 2025 goals. View information on:
Source water quality targets
By 2025: Land use activities do not negatively impact on source water quality and quantity.
Has this goal been met?
Compliance data confirms that many land use activities undertaken in our region do not negatively impact on source water. However, there are known hotspot areas (e.g. Lower Waihao rural water supply) in Canterbury where intensive farming activities and industry, like meat works, are negatively impacting source water quality.
Implementation of regional plan limits require reductions in nutrient loss beyond Good Management Practice in several of these catchments.
- Environment Canterbury’s Environmental Regulation and Protection work programme includes guidance to ensure resources are used consistently within the rules, community aspirations and national requirements. Environment Canterbury maintains key working relationships with mana whenua, other agencies and communities to deliver on-the-ground action to drive improved outcomes.
- Environment Canterbury has worked with the community to improve Ahuriri Arm water quality.
- Ōtūwharekai Ashburton Lakes working group is progressing programmes to improve water quality in local foothill and high-country lakes.
- Farmers’ hub webpage provides information for landowners on Good management practices for freshwater, farming around rivers and streams, water restrictions and much more.
- Beginning in 2024, following an exceedance of the Maximum Allowable Value (MAV) for nitrate in the Lower Waihao rural water supply, Environment Canterbury is undertaking compliance and consents work to implement the Land and Water Regional Plan, as well as land management work to improve on the ground practices.
- Environment Canterbury has committed to a pilot study testing private drinking water bores in one or more high-risk areas in the 2024/25 financial year.
- Compliance monitoring of high risk consented land use activities continues to be undertaken by Environment Canterbury.
- Environment Canterbury continues to respond to new national direction (including the RMA reforms and changes to freshwater policies).
- Environment Canterbury’s Long Term Plan 2024–2034 identifies the importance of providing resources to support local action and will continue to support access to co-funding for projects that align with Council’s strategic priorities, as well as advice and other assistance.
By 2025: Priority is given to source water used for community drinking water supplies (including stockwater).
Has the goal been met?
Protecting sources of drinking water is a key priority in both the Canterbury Water Management Strategy, as well as Schedule 1: Community Drinking Water Protection Zones of the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan (CLWRP).
As per the CLWRP, existing community drinking water supplies have mapped protection zones around the source to regulate land use activities that could pose potential risk of contamination. Despite this however, there are still notable examples in our region of when priority was not given to source water when establishing a new community drinking water supply.
Environment Canterbury’s Environmental Regulation and Protection work programme includes a focus on compliance monitoring of consented activities within community drinking water protection zones to reduce the risk of contaminants to sources of drinking water.
In 2026, Environment Canterbury will resume development of the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement.
By 2025: There is a decreasing trend in the number of drinking water wells with nitrate concentrations that exceed half the Maximum Allowable Value (using 2020 data as the benchmark).
Has the goal been met?
Environment Canterbury monitors nitrate concentrations in groundwater across Canterbury each year. At a regional scale, nitrate concentrations in Canterbury groundwater are high relative to other regions in New Zealand.
In 2023, Environment Canterbury found that more than half of wells monitored in the annual groundwater survey showed nitrate levels still likely increasing. Of the 349 wells sampled, 35 water samples showed nitrate-nitrogen concentrations above the Maximum Acceptable Value (MAV) of 11.3 mg/l, down from 44 in 2022. However, nitrate levels appear to be increasing in 59 per cent of the wells surveyed, with only 17 percent likely decreasing.
- Environment Canterbury undertakes yearly monitoring surveys of groundwater across the region, sampling around 350 wells for a range of contaminants, including nitrate.
- The Environment Canterbury Annual Groundwater Quality Survey 2023 provided data for evaluating long-term, regional-scale changes in groundwater quality along with an annual snapshot of groundwater quality in the Canterbury region.
- Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA) uses groundwater quality indicators monitored by regional councils and unitary authorities to show state and trend analysis of nitrate concentrations.
- Environment Canterbury and territorial authorities continue to raise awareness in the community about the impacts of nitrate in waterways and drinking water supplies.
- Waimakariri District Council published a new digital resource to support private well owners (PDF file, 3.8MB) in testing their water supply for contaminants, including nitrate.
- Waimakariri District Council published new data about nitrate levels in the district’s community water supplies.
- Beginning in 2024, following an exceedance of the Maximum Allowable Value (MAV) for nitrate in the Lower Waihao rural water supply, Environment Canterbury is undertaking compliance and consents work to implement the Land and Water Regional Plan, as well as land management work to improve on the ground practices.
- Environment Canterbury released a new resource for landowners about good practice guidelines for managing silage.
- Environment Canterbury will continue to monitor groundwater quality and investigate emerging contaminants, sharing this data with territorial authorities.
- Environment Canterbury will improve compliance requirements under new national regulations and continue with regular community and industry education/ behaviour change campaigns to protect drinking water quality.
- The region’s territorial authorities will continue to actively monitor nitrate levels in accordance with the Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules.
Catchment nutrient loads
By 2025: Detailed dynamic groundwater modelling provides data that ensures policy recognises impact of contaminants, land use and climate change.
Has this goal been met?
Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan Plan Change 7, incorporating the subregional chapters for the Orari-Temuka-Opihi-Pareora (OTOP) zone and the Waimakariri zone, as well as a set of omnibus plan changes, was made fully operative in March 2025.
Environment Canterbury will continue to undertake groundwater modelling to inform future policy development.
By 2025: Implementation programmes in place for each zone to achieve catchment load limits.
Has the goal been met?
Environment Canterbury continues to implement plan limits through its consenting function and work programmes to support G (GMP) implementation. Implementation programmes are at different stages depending on when they were made operative.
Each year, Environment Canterbury regularly conducts flyovers in a fixed wing light aircraft to observe how farmers are setting up their wintering paddocks and to ensure all appropriate management practices are being implemented to mitigate any adverse effects on the environment.
- Environment Canterbury will continue with implementation programmes for each zone to achieve catchment load limits.
- Environment Canterbury will continue compliance monitoring to ensure intensive winter grazing and other land uses do not create unnecessary risks to our land, air and water, and follow up on any incidents where they do.
By 2025: Reviewed progress towards achieving catchment load limits in catchments where limits have been in place for at least five years.
Has the goal been met?
No review of progress has been undertaken to date.
No highlights to date.
Environment Canterbury will review catchment load limits during the development of the integrated regulatory planning framework.
By 2025: Achieved nutrient efficiency targets for the zone on all new irrigated land and 80% of other land in major rural land uses (pasture, major arable and major horticulture crops), and have 100% of rural properties working towards those targets (and of properties within urban boundaries that apply nutrients over significant areas).
Has the goal been met?
Nutrient efficiency targets on all farming activities are set as nutrient management rules in Plan Change 5 and sub-region sections of the Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP). These rules set industry agreed Good Management Practice (GMP) as the minimum standard for all farming activities on properties larger than 10 hectares. Primary industry sector organisations have worked together to describe what GMP looks like for different farming types. The LWRP requires the implementation of GMP on farm to achieve water quality outcomes.
An Environment Canterbury sample of Farm Environment Plan audits between 2024–2025 showed that over 80% of consent holders are meeting Good Management Practice and Canterbury Land and Water Regional Plan requirements for irrigation.
- Environment Canterbury regularly publishes progress reports on the number of Farm Environment Plans in place and audit results, including data related to groundwater and surface water monitoring.
- According to StatsNZ, 4500 farms from a total of 7400 farms in Canterbury operate under Permitted Activity status because their activities are of lower environmental risk. Of the remaining farms, 1400 require a land use consent, and 1500 have an authorisation to operate because they are managed by collectives.
- During the 2022/23 financial year, 21 certified Farm Environment Plan auditors in Canterbury completed 763 audits. 97 per cent of the farms audited achieved an A or a B grade. An A grade indicates that the farm is compliant and achieving Good Management Practice, while a B grade indicates that the farm is also compliant but will be on track to achieve Good Management Practice by the next audit, which will be due to take place two years later.
- Environment Canterbury will continue to implement programmes to support Good Management Practice.
- Environment Canterbury will continue to monitor groundwater quality.