Federated Farmers is welcoming a lake quality report by NIWA as something of a victory for farmers.

Water spokesperson Lachlan McKenzie says the results show farming is responsible for far less water pollution than is the public belief.

“What the report shows is that the correlation between land use and nutrification is about 0.27 which means that only about a quarter of the effect of nutrients in lakes can be [attributed] to land use.”

Mr McKenzie says public perception of farming’s environmental footprint still needs to change.

“It has to turn around. Unfortunately there [are] still very powerful lobby groups that don’t understand and lots in government, and officials, that need to have greater clarity.”

New regulations for irrigation systems are crucial for improvements in our freshwater standards, according to Environment Minister Nick Smith.

New Zealand has doubled its water take over the last decade, and in that time the quality of freshwater in our lakes and waterways has steadily declined.

Nick Smith says measuring the take will help improve the standard of what’s left behind.