Farmers Across the Marble Aquifer (FAMA) was formed following the application for, and gazettal of, a Water Conservation Order (WCO) for Te Waikoropupu Springs (TWS) on 21 September 2023.

FAMA members are dairy farmers operating in the recharge area of the aquifer that feeds Te Waikoropupu Springs. The springs are internationally recognised for their exceptional water clarity and quality, and FAMA fully supports the need to protect this taonga for future generations.

 

The WCO for TWS is significant because it is the first WCO in New Zealand to focus primarily on groundwater, and the first to require an improvement in water quality. It reflects the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 and gives full effect to Te Mana o te Wai.

 

However, the WCO was developed in the context of limited scientific understanding of a highly complex groundwater system. At the time of the Environment Court hearings, there was uncertainty about how water moves through the aquifer, the relative contribution of different source waters, nutrient pathways, and historical contaminant losses. Two separate nutrient models were presented, each producing considerably different results.

 

In the absence of definitive evidence, the Court relied heavily on the precautionary principle. Nitrogen was identified as a contaminant of concern, and pastoral farming was assumed to be a significant contributor, despite farming representing only around 10 percent of the catchment footprint.

 

The WCO requires regional council to reduce nitrogen concentrations in the springs from approximately 0.45 g/m³ to 0.41 g/m³ by 2038. If these targets are not met, council will be unable to renew irrigation consents, triggering land use restrictions regardless of where nutrient losses originate or whether further reductions are economically viable for individual farms.

 

Since the WCO was imposed, farmers in the recharge area have taken extensive, voluntary action to reduce nutrient losses. Collectively, FAMA members have achieved a 17% reduction in nitrogen loss. Despite this, there has been no measurable change in nitrogen levels at the springs.

 

A key concern for FAMA is that WCOs are rigid instruments. They have no built-in review process, even when new scientific information becomes available. Since the WCO was finalised, significant additional monitoring and data have been collected, providing deeper insight into the aquifer system. However, there is currently no mechanism for this information to be reflected in a review of the water quality targets or the level of precaution applied.

 

The WCO process itself was lengthy, costly, and adversarial. For FAMA’s 14 members, legal and expert costs exceeded $550,000, not including the substantial time, stress, and uncertainty borne by farming families. The ongoing regulatory uncertainty has impacted land values, undermined confidence, and constrained the ability of farmers to invest in their businesses and the local economy.

 

FAMA believes that while protection of Te Waikoropupu Springs is essential, the WCO is the wrong mechanism to achieve this outcome. It has created a punitive and divisive regulatory framework that does not adequately account for scientific uncertainty, proportionality of impact, or socio-economic consequences.

 

FAMA supports the intent of current RMA reform proposals, particularly the recognition of socio-economic impacts, the use of sound, evidence-based science, and the provision of fair and equitable relief where regulation causes significant harm to landowners.

 

FAMA remains committed to protecting water quality and working constructively toward solutions that are collaborative, adaptive, and grounded in robust science, while ensuring the long-term viability of farming businesses and rural communities.