Around 2,000 dairy farms in New Zealand, which are mostly not irrigated, use a very hefty amount of water equaling to the combined populations of London, New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro, according to a Stuff report.

 

These farms are mainly based in dry areas of the country like Canterbury and Otago. Agricultural economist Peter Fraser describes a "huge gold rush" to turn such regions to "hugely water-intensive uses."

 

"There's an issue here with how we've gone and used our land," Fraser commented. "Why have we gone and put these incredibly water hungry uses such as dairy farming in such water scarce areas?" He claimed that "free" water escalates the heavy dependency on water.

 

An average of around 80 cubic metres of water is used by each person, based on figures from Wellington - although water use varies nationwide. This calculates to about 58.2 million people, the figure equivalent to the amount of water dairy farms use. In addition, there were 12,000 dairy herds in New Zealand consuming 4.8 billion cubic metres of water, said Fraser and farm consultant Dr. Alison Dewes, who estimated the amount based on Dairy NZ figures.

 

New Zealand's Labour Party recently proposed a water tax which sparked protests by farmers thinking that the move is aimed unfairly at rural communities. However, claims that they would be overwhelmed by the significant cost of a water tax are exaggerated, Fraser and Dr. Dewes remarked.

 

Cost estimates of paying the tax range from $50,000 to $100,000. For an irrigated dairy farm, the average cost would be between $10,000 and $15,000, Fraser and Dr. Dewes' analysis found. Some mega farms, which were each using water equivalent to 31,000 people, would pay up to $50,000.     

 

On the other hand, data by Irrigation NZ showed the average cost for an irrigated farm in Canterbury to be bigger - at between $24,000 and $29,000.

 

'When this additional cost is put in context of the profit generated by a family farming business, it will create a significant impact, particularly for sheep and beef, arable and vegetable farmers who have reasonably tight operating margins," said the organisation's chief executive, Andrew Curtis.

 

Fraser, who believes the water tax should be paid by everyone, said the tax "would be $1.60 per person a year."

 

Dr. Dewes also called upon the country's National party to focus on "developing sound policies that help farmers transition to high-value, resource-efficient land uses with lower water, nitrogen and carbon footprints."

 

- Stuff