North Canterbury News: May 06, 2021
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NEWS<br />
22 The <strong>North</strong> <strong>Canterbury</strong> <strong>News</strong>, <strong>May</strong> 6, <strong>2021</strong><br />
Well owners urged<br />
to carry out testing<br />
By DAVID HILL<br />
Private well owners are being<br />
encouraged to do regular tests to ensure<br />
their water is safe to drink.<br />
The Waimakariri District Council has<br />
released an information booklet for<br />
owners of private wells, which provides<br />
guidance on how to drill anew well, test<br />
water regularly, and what to look for<br />
when buying aproperty with aprivate<br />
well.<br />
Maps of welltesting results give an<br />
indication of where there are specific<br />
contaminants in the district to watch out<br />
for.<br />
The booklet’s release is timed with a<br />
report on the second year of acouncilled<br />
study of 19 private wells in the Cust<br />
and Eyreton areas.<br />
Nitrate and other chemical<br />
parameters were analysed in private<br />
wells, in response to arecommendation<br />
from the Waimakariri Zone Committee.<br />
Cust and Eyreton have been selected<br />
for annual sampling because of reports<br />
of elevated nitrate levels.<br />
The study results highlight the<br />
importance of private well owners<br />
understanding that they are responsible<br />
for undertaking their own monitoring<br />
and at what frequency to test their water.<br />
The study found one of 19 private wells<br />
with nitrate levels above the maximum<br />
acceptable value of 11.3 milligrams per<br />
litre nitratenitrogen (equivalent to<br />
50mg/L nitrate), as set out in the<br />
drinkingwater standards for New<br />
Zealand.<br />
Consumption of nitrate over 11.3 mg/L<br />
can cause adverse health effects for<br />
unborn babies, young infants and those<br />
with rare metabolic disorders.<br />
Waimakariri District Council water<br />
environment adviser Sophie Allen<br />
recommends regular testing, at least<br />
annually, to check that water is safe to<br />
drink, as nitrate levels can change<br />
seasonally.<br />
‘‘The test for nitrate is particularly<br />
important in the inland plains areas of<br />
our district, stretching roughly<br />
westwards of Rangiora towards the<br />
hills,’’ she says.<br />
‘‘Nitrate is just one contaminant that<br />
all well owners should look for, with<br />
testing also recommended for other<br />
potential contaminants such as arsenic,<br />
and bacteria such as E. coli.’’<br />
Elevated levels of nitrate over the<br />
accepted limit had been found in an<br />
Environment <strong>Canterbury</strong> monitoring<br />
well in the Cust area and in private wells<br />
in Eyreton before the council study,<br />
utilities and roading manager Gerard<br />
Cleary said.<br />
‘‘Private well owners should have<br />
their water checked by an accredited<br />
laboratory to ensure water is safe to<br />
drink.’’<br />
Affordable treatment options exist for<br />
nitrate removal, but many standard<br />
filters are not adequate for the removal<br />
of nitrate, and advice should be sought<br />
from awater treatment specialist on the<br />
appropriate filtration system for<br />
removal.<br />
‘‘There is no need for landowners<br />
supplied by acouncil reticulated water<br />
scheme to test their water. The council<br />
supplies have regular testing, with no<br />
water supply in the district affected by<br />
high levels of nitrate or other<br />
contaminants,’’ Mr Cleary said.<br />
Work recognised ... Jason Clements has had his haiku, Shengze Haiku,chosen for Best<br />
New ZealandPoems2020.<br />
PHOTO: SUPPLIED<br />
Poet'swork recognised<br />
By SHELLEY TOPP<br />
Ahaiku written by Oxford poet Jason<br />
Clements duringthe Shengze Silk and<br />
Poetry Festival in China in 2018 has<br />
been selected for BestNew Zealand<br />
Poems2020.<br />
Jason, who writes under the pen name<br />
Doc Drumheller, was bornin<br />
Charleston, South Carolina,but has<br />
livedmost of his adult life in New<br />
Zealand.<br />
It is the second time one of his poems<br />
has been chosenasone of the country’s<br />
Zealand’sbest.His poem, Guangzhou<br />
City Haiku,was selected for BestNew<br />
Zealand Poems2018.<br />
His latest winner, ShengzeHaiku,was<br />
firstpublished last yearinLandfall239,<br />
New Zealand's longestrunning arts and<br />
literary journal.<br />
‘‘Itisahuge honourtohave your<br />
poems selectedfor Best New Zealand<br />
Poems,asthere are only 25 selected<br />
fromthe thousandsofpoemsthat get<br />
published each year,’’ Jason says.<br />
‘‘This year’sselection was extra<br />
special, as the editorfor the collection is<br />
David Eggleton, and he is one of my<br />
favouritepoets. He has done so much for<br />
literatureinNew Zealand, as apoet,<br />
editor, performer, andreviewer.’’<br />
There was alsoanhonour for Jasonas<br />
an editor and apublisher. Socially<br />
Distant,one of the poems Jason<br />
published in volume17ofhis Catalyst<br />
publication, wasalso chosen for Best<br />
New Zealand Poems 2020.<br />
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