Before the Special Tribunal for the Ngaruroro and Clive Rivers Water Conservation Order
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BEFORE THE SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR THE NGARURORO AND CLIVE RIVERS WATER CONSERVATION ORDER AT NAPIER IN THE MATTER of the Resource Management Act 1991 (“Act”) AND IN THE MATTER of a Special Tribunal appointed under s202 of the Act to consider an application for a Water Conservation Order THE SPECIAL TRIBUNAL: Richard Fowler (Chair) Alec Neill (Member) Dr Roger Maaka (Member) Dr Ngaire Phillips (Member) John McCliskie (Member) STATEMENT OF EVIDENCE OF PETER CALLANDER ON BEHALF OF THE HAWKE’S BAY WINEGROWERS’ ASSOCIATION & GIMBLETT GRAVELS WINEGROWERS’ ASSOCIATION STAGE 2 HEARING 25 JANUARY 2019 Counsel instructed: Solicitors acting: J D K Gardner-Hopkins Phone: 04 889 2776 Alison McEwan [email protected] Phone: 06 835 8939 PO Box 25-160 Fax: 06 835 3712 WELLINGTON PO Box 446 NAPIER - 1 - INTRODUCTION 1. My name is Peter Francis Callander and I have been a Director of Pattle Delamore Partners Limited (PDP) since 1997. I hold the qualifications of BSc (Geology) from the University of Auckland and MSc (Earth Sciences) from the University of Waterloo (Canada). I am a member of the New Zealand Hydrological Society, Water NZ and the USA based National Ground Water Association. I also hold a current certificate for “Making Good Decisions” and serve as an Independent Commissioner on RMA hearings from time to time. I have over 25 years of experience as an environmental scientist specialising in groundwater and surface water resources. Prior to my employment at PDP, I had been employed for seven years by the Canterbury Regional Council (ECan) and its predecessor the North Canterbury Catchment Board. 2. I have particular experience in the management of water resources. This has included work on numerous projects where I have modelled and advised on the management of water quality impacts associated with irrigation including work for the Hurunui Water Project, Waimakariri Irrigation Scheme, Rangitata South Irrigation, Barrhill-Chertsey Irrigation, the Southern Valleys Irrigation Scheme and Wairau Valley Water Enhancement Scheme. I have also reviewed work completed by other parties for the proposed Central Plains irrigation scheme (on behalf of the Christchurch City Council and others) and applications for irrigated land use change in the Mackenzie basin (on behalf of Meridian Energy). I have also been involved in many projects relating to groundwater- surface water interaction and was the principal author of the stream depletion guidelines prepared for the Canterbury Regional Council and the sea water intrusion guidelines, both of which have been used nationally as guideline documents. I am also involved in the assessment of contamination risks for drinking-water supply bores across New Zealand in light of the August 2016 Havelock North contamination incident. 3. For this hearing I have been asked by the Gimblett Gravels Winegrowers Association Incorporated (GGWA) and the Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers Associations Inc (HBWG) to provide comment on clause 11 from version - 2 - 3 of the “Draft Ngaruroro River and Clive River Water Conservation Order” and the implications it might have on the GWWA and HBWG members. Clause 11 reads as follows: 11. Requirement to protect water quality No resource consent may be granted or rule included in a regional plan authorising the discharge of contaminants onto land or into waters specified in Schedules 1, 2 or 3 that will cause, either by itself or in combination with any existing consents, activities or rules, the limits specified in Schedule 5 to be exceeded. This clause does not restrict a regional plan from imposing water quality standards that set more conservative limits. 4. I have read and am familiar with the Environment Court’s Code of Conduct for Expert Witnesses, contained in the Environment Court Practice Note 2014, and agree to comply with it. My qualifications as an expert are set out above. Other than where I state that I am relying on the advice of another person, I confirm that the issues addressed in this statement of evidence are within my area of expertise. I have not omitted to consider material facts known to me that might alter or detract from the opinions that I express. 5. In my evidence I will provide the following: 5.1 Comment on concerns regarding clause 11 of the draft WCO. 5.2 An overview description of the hydrogeological setting of the area where the GGWA operate relative to the surface waters of the lower Ngaruroro River and Clive River described in Schedule 2 of the draft WCO. 5.3 How the reference to “Hydraulically connected groundwater” in Schedule 3 of the draft WCO should be interpreted within clause 11, based on the hydrogeological information. - 3 - 6. In my evidence I have used the GGWA area as a specific location to demonstrate the points I am making. Those points also apply to the Hawke’s Bay Winegrowers Association, although their members occur over a more widely distributed area. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7. On the basis of the information I have reviewed and the assessments carried out, I have come to the following conclusions regarding clause 11 and whether there is an issue of concern regarding hydraulically connected groundwater for the draft WCO. 7.1 If Schedule 5 water quality limits are not met, then clause 11 of the draft WCO poses a potentially unrealistic prohibition on many existing discharge activities when their current consents expire. It appears to allow no consideration for the relative significance of a discharge to the quality of the surface waterway and no allowance for the time frame that might be required to upgrade an existing discharge. A land use discharge might in fact be prohibited in circumstances where there is little or no prospect of the discharge entering groundwater that would affect water quality in the Ngaruroro River. 7.2 The GGWA area occurs in a location where the Ngaruroro River loses seepage into the surrounding gravel and groundwater flows in an east or south-easterly direction. Significantly, in respect of what clause 11 is seeking to achieve, groundwater in the GGWA area does not contribute directly to the surface waterways defined in Schedule 2 of the draft WCO. 7.3 Flow gauging surveys, groundwater flow patterns and the presence of a low permeability confining strata overlying the gravel aquifer to the east of Fernhill indicates that there is no obvious area of large, direct inflows of any large groundwater area to the surface waterways defined in Schedule 2. - 4 - 7.4 Some land-use activities and discharge to land immediately adjacent to the Schedule 2 waterways could impact on their surface water quality. Therefore, if there is to be a WCO for the lower Ngaruroro River and Clive River, rather than referring to “hydraulically connected groundwater” in Schedule 3 in the context of any clause 11 discharges rule, it would be more appropriate to refer to a riparian buffer adjacent to these rivers where the WCO restrictions could apply. In my opinion such a riparian buffer zone would only need to apply to activities that impact on the Schedule 5 water quality limits and occur within 100 m (or some lesser distance) of flowing water in the Schedule 2 waterways. POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS OF CLAUSE 11 FOR THE GGWA 8. The GGWA operate vineyards and wineries in an area of the Heretaunga Plains located between Roys Hill and Fernhill, as show in Figure 1 attached to my evidence. Many of them hold resource consents for the discharge of wastewater to land related to either winery wastewater (from the processing grapes into wine) and/or human wastewater from the buildings used by staff and visitors. The discharge of wastewater to land is a very common practice in rural areas where a reticulated wastewater network is not available. Provided it is well managed it can, in many circumstances, allow for a beneficial re-use of the wastewater and nutrients within the soil to promote plant growth. There will however be occasions during heavy rainfall events where some of the nitrogen in the wastewater leaches down into the underlying groundwater. 9. The GGWA are concerned that if their wastewater discharges to land contribute to any of the waters specified in Schedules 2 or 3 in the draft WCO (which include “hydraulically connected” waters to those waters in Schedule 2) and if these waters exceed the limits in Schedule 5 of the WCO then, when their current consents expire, they may not be able to be renewed because s217(2) of the RMA requires that discharge permits shall not be granted if they would be contrary to any restriction - 5 - or prohibition or any other provisions of the order, once it becomes operative. 10. The discharge of wastewater to land via irrigation is generally considered to be a very beneficial and environmentally friendly way of managing wastewater that is preferable to a direct discharge to surface waters. It allows both the moisture and the nutrient content of the wastewater to be re-used for productive growth of various crops. By managing the application rate and quality of the wastewater to the soil infiltration characteristics the effects of the wastewater on the underlying groundwater and/or nearby waterways can be minimised. 11. Clause 11 provides for no consideration of the size, location, or significance of a discharge that may contribute to the quality of the waterway. So resource consents for even small and relatively insignificant discharges would not be able to be renewed if the limits specified in Schedule 5 are exceeded. This concern is particularly relevant for discharges to land where there is often considerable uncertainty about the migration of contaminants through the subsurface environment and their contribution to surface water quality. Clause 11 would be of concern to anyone who relies on existing discharge consents that are deemed to contribute to the waters in Schedules 2 or 3 (including “hydraulically connected” waters to the waters in Schedule 2).