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Does the Minister accept the findings of the Environment Southland report on nitrate contamination in groundwater that "Monitoring data, land-use patterns, and established nitrogen cycling science all indicate that agriculture is the primary source of nitrate contamination in Southland’s groundwater", if not, why not?

Answered Question 6166 (2026)
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Asked by

Lan Pham

List MP · Green Party

Question

  • Does the Minister accept the findings of the Environment Southland report on nitrate contamination in groundwater that "Monitoring data, land-use patterns, and established nitrogen cycling science all indicate that agriculture is the primary source of nitrate contamination in Southland’s groundwater", if not, why not?

Answered by

Hon Todd McClay

Member for Rotorua · National Party · Minister of Agriculture

Answer

The Environment Southland report finds that agriculture, along with point source contamination, including non-secure wellheads, septic tanks, leaky effluent infrastructure, abandoned bores, and localised discharges all have a likely effect on groundwater.