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Item Factoring community welfare estimates into freshwater allocation decision making in New Zealand : a common good case study : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resource Management at Massey University, New Zealand(Massey University, 2020) Walker, HumphreyThe study recognises the centrality of the ‘common good’ by working to improve the intergenerational well-being of all people in society. The research adopts the Tukituki River catchment in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand as a case study to demonstrate how community welfare estimates can be factored into freshwater allocation planning and decision-making. The Tukituki catchment faces water pollution and allocation challenges that are typical of agricultural landscapes with summer water scarcity. A survey measured both current and future perceptions of the catchment, focussing on comparing perceptions of anglers and gamebird hunters with other recreational users. A second survey estimated the marginal welfare benefits generated by improved water quality and the welfare associated with trust in freshwater advocates and policy-oriented organisations. Most users felt the catchment was in a poor state and wanted a future with improved water quality. There was little or no difference between the perceptions of anglers and other recreational users. Gamebird hunter’s perceptions were different from other recreational users at the p<.05 level. Recreational users were willing to pay a mean $6.67 a month for ten years to improve water quality to a level representative of the successful delivery of current policy goals by 2030. Bayesian trust scores were used to model social capital in the form of a novel social trust economy, which proved to be an effective descriptor of the known political economy. Keywords: Freshwater, Welfare, Perceptions, Trust, Common good, Latent Class Analysis, Best-worst scaling, Non-market valuation, Contingent valuation.Item Transforming freshwater governing : a case study of farmer and regional council change in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agriculture and Environment at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand(Massey University, 2021) Drury, Charlotte Josephine MaryAchieving improved freshwater governing and management is a global challenge, from which New Zealand is not exempt. Agriculture has played, and continues to play, a central role in New Zealand’s economy, but is also an activity that impacts freshwater. In this research it is argued that a transition is occurring in New Zealand that necessitates transformational change by both farmers and the entities that govern farmers’ freshwater management. This thesis explores at the micro (individual) level the lived experiences of two groups of regime actors involved in NZ’s freshwater governing transition: farmers, and regional councils – the governing entity that has the legislative responsibility to manage the freshwater resources of a region. The governing of farmers’ freshwater management in the Tukituki Catchment of the Hawke’s Bay region is the single case studied qualitatively. The research question answered is what is shaping the governing of farmers’ freshwater management, and what is shaping the regional council’s governing of farmers? The relationship between the two groups was of interest also. Data were primarily obtained through semi-structured interviews with farmers and people associated with the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council conducted between August 2016 and October 2017. Findings of this research suggest that the regional council was not actively governing farmer participants. Farmers were changing their freshwater management practices, but in response to broader societal pressures. Changes made were moderated by farmer networks and localised good farming norms linked with farmer identity. Freshwater was not at the time recognised as a component of good farming norms, nor a farmer’s identity. Farmer practices instead illustrated the ongoing dominance of a productivist logic. The transition for the regional council from an entity that historically had a hands-off approach to governing farmers and engaged with farmers through a productivist logic, to an entity that had an environmental protection logic and actively governed farmers required organisational transformation. It also necessitated a fundamental renegotiation of the relationship between farmers and the council. The challenges experienced by individuals and the organisation as a whole in adapting to a new formal institution that required transformational change arose from sticking points, institutional logics, ways-of-knowing, people’s self-identities and relationships. The depth of change necessary, individually and collectively, of farmers, natural resource management (NRM) governing entities and arguably others, explains why improvements in freshwater have not yet been fully realised. As explained by a farmer participant in this research it’s a hellova big job to do this stuff (F2).Item The ability of detainment bunds to mitigate the impact of pastoral agriculture on surface water quality in the Lake Rotorua catchment : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Soil Science, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2020) Levine, BrianIdentifying and implementing cost-effective mitigation strategies are necessary to achieve reductions in the anthropogenic phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) loads that contribute to eutrophication and toxic algal blooms in Lake Rotorua, in the Bay of Plenty Region on the North Island of New Zealand. Storm generated surface runoff from grazed pastures, that cover ~48% of Lake Rotorua’s catchment, contribute 67% of the total N (TN) and 43% of the total P (TP) loads delivered from the catchment to the lake. Detainment bunds (DBs) are a novel mitigation strategy targeted at decreasing nutrient and sediment losses by impeding and temporarily ponding stormflows for up to 3 days. A DB is an earthen, stormwater retention structure, approximately 1.5-2 m high and 20-80 m long, constructed on pastures across the flow path of targeted low-order ephemeral streams. Two DBs on pastures in the Lake Rotorua catchment, with 20 and 55 ha catchments, were monitored over 12 months. Nearly 20 storm events resulted in ponding at each site. Detailed hydrological analyses were conducted for each storm in order to establish water balances, as well as to analyse contaminate loads delivered to, and discharged from the DBs. Surface runoff flows were measured, and samples were collected, to determine the DB mitigation performance and to identify the processes affecting the outcomes. The DBs prevented an estimated 51-59% of the annual suspended sediment loads, 47-68% of the annual TP loads, and 57-72% of the annual TN loads delivered to the DBs in runoff, from reaching the lake. An estimated 43-63% of the annual surface runoff delivered to the DBs infiltrated the soil, as a result of increased residence times of surface runoff on well-drained pasture soils. Soil infiltration was mainly responsible for decreased contaminant loads delivered to surface waters downstream of the bunds, while sorption and sedimentation also contributed to some load reductions. The inability to impound only portions of the runoff generated during rare, high magnitude storm events limited the performance of DBs. Furthermore, declining soil infiltration rates and increasing soil P concentrations in the ponding areas could affect the longer-term performance of DBs. A cost: benefit analysis of the DB strategy was conducted in order to compare the cost-effectiveness of DBs to other nutrient migration strategies, with results demonstrating that the DB strategy is a highly cost-effective edge of field mitigation option available to pastoral farmers in the Lake Rotorua catchment.Item Dairy farmers' responses to water quality interventions : a case study in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Agriculture and Environment, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2018) Collins, Heather MildredNew Zealand freshwater quality has declined, and dairy farming is one identified contributor to this decline. This research provides insight into dairy farmers responses to the water quality interventions introduced to mitigate diffuse pollution, and the socio-cultural dynamics that shaped their responses. Putnam’s (2000) social capital theory was the theoretical framework used to explore how and why New Zealand dairy farmers responded to water quality interventions and the role of social capital in shaping dairy farmers’ responses. A single qualitative case-study research design was undertaken in one Water Management Zone of the Manawatu-Wanganui Region. Data was drawn from semi-structured interviews with dairy farmers and key informants, and from documents. Farmer response is identified as a multi-dimensional rather than a uni-dimensional phenomenon. The dairy farmers responded to water quality interventions as individuals and collectively, and these responses were linked and interwoven. Individual farmer awareness and understanding, emotion and behaviour changed. Collectively, resistance, social learning, formation of a farmer-led action group and changes in accepted farming practices occurred. In addition, social interactions through social networks, trust, social norms and being a ‘good’ farmer that uses ‘best’ farm practice (farmer identity) emerged as key influencers of the dairy farmers’ individual and collective responses to water quality interventions. The socially constructed collective agreements on accepted behaviour, or cultural, personal and practice norms, influenced farmers’ individual and collective responses to interventions. The identified cultural norms associated with private property ownership, equity and fairness, social responsibility and relationships, and personal norms associated with the stewardship of land and water, reflected the farming culture of the farmers interviewed and the broader group to which they belong. A broad collective change in what farmers believe are the expected farm management practices around farming and water quality (practice norms) influenced individual farm practice change. In addition, informal farmer sanctioning of practice norm violation was found to be a key part of the process by which farm practices that had a negative effect on water quality were challenged, and new practice norms were fostered. The collective farmer resistance to regulation and the actions of a farmer-led collective action group were in fact resistance to an intervention that was perceived to challenge their social norms, their identity as ‘good farmers’ and to disregard their local knowledge; not resistance to practice changes that will improve water quality. Dairy farm management practice change is a social process of exchanging information and knowledge, questioning, challenging current practice and reinforcing what is considered accepted practice around farming and water quality. This understanding provides a valuable contribution to the design and implementation of environmental policy interventions.Item Identification of a marker indicative of dairy faecal contamination in the environment : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2001) Harvey, Stephanie AdeleFaecal contamination of aqueous environments remains a significant environmental problem. Faecal pollution causes degradation of both chemical and microbial water quality, exposing the public to a variety of pathogenic organisms. Contamination may originate from direct and indirect faecal sources. Direct sources of faecal contamination include piggery and dairy pond effluents, sewage, birds, bathers, or grazing animals with direct access to waterways. Indirect sources may comprise agricultural run-offs, or leaking septic tanks or sewage distribution systems. Discrimination of the origin of faecal contamination would enable monitoring agencies to predict associated disease risks more accurately, as well as implement strategies to mitigate the contaminating source. Escherichia coli, faecal coliforms and enterococci are extensively used as indicators of faecal pollution in water. These organisms are, however, widely distributed in the intestines of warm-blooded animals and hence enumeration does not define faecal origin. It has been suggested that bacterial strains may adapt to their environmental niche and consequently, host association of strains may be apparent. The development of highly discriminatory molecular fingerprinting techniques provides an opportunity to distinguish closely related strains. These techniques may be suitable for locating host associative factors and hence defining the source of faecal contamination. The scope the research described in this thesis was to develop a method capable of discriminating sources of faecal contamination in the environment. Agricultural faecal sources were primarily targeted as they represent a significant source of faecal contamination in New Zealand waterways. Two molecular fingerprinting techniques — Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism — were investigated for their ability to detect genotypic markers in E. coli. A polymorphic fragment (714 bp) indicative of dairy cattle faecal isolates was identified by AFLP analysis. To facilitate rapid screening of isolates, PCR primers were designed to amplify a segment (462 bp) of the polymorphic fragment. The marker was specific for dairy cattle faecal isolates and was present in approximately half of the strains. Field study results demonstrated that the marker provided a feasible approach for monitoring "special interest" samples such as monitoring significant pollution incidences, supporting prosecution cases or identifying an illusive source of persistent water quality degradation at a particular site. In these instances the diagnostic marker may assist by verifying or eliminating suspected contaminating sources. AFLP analysis was used to locate a marker diagnostic of faecal origin, and indicated that further markers could be identified. Although RAPD-PCR analysis did not locate a diagnostic marker, the technique appeared to corroborate the AFLP results. The inability to obtain a highly specific marker using RAPD analysis may have been a function of the limited primer combinations that were screened. The AFLP technique could be used to construct a library of markers, enabling differentiation of a wide range of contaminating sources.Item The aerobic treatment of reverse osmosis permeate for reuse : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology in Environmental Engineering(Massey University, 1995) Bickers, Paul OliverThe reduction of effluent streams and the demand for freshwater intake in the dairy industry, may be accomplished by the segregation and reuse of streams that can be readily treated. This study assessed the biodegradability and suitability for reuse of reverse osmosis (R/O) permeate from Kiwi Dairies Ltd processing factory (Hawera), using aerobic treatment. Analysis of the permeate showed that there was a direct relationship between chemical oxygen and lactose concentration. The chemical oxygen demand of R/O permeate from two reverse osmosis membrane plants operating in parallel varied widely during the period of study. This wide variation in permeate chemical oxygen was directly related to the membrane efficiency. Elemental analysis of the R/O permeate showed that iron and phosphorous would need to be supplemented to ensure balanced microbial growth. The biodegradability was characterised by a series of batch tests to determine the biokinetic constants µm, Ks, qsm and Yt. These tests showed that the biodegradability of reverse osmosis permeate is comparable to general dairy wastes. Batch tests were also performed on permeate from R/O membranes of varying performance efficiency, with different lactose and mineral concentrations. There were no conclusive variations in biokinetic constants between permeates from R/O membranes of varying performance efficiency. Operation of a model activated sludge pilot plant showed that soluble COD removal efficiencies of over 90% could be achieved at hydraulic retention times of 10 and 20 hours. The sludge settling characteristics were more favourable at a 10 hour hydraulic retention time. Sudden fluctuations in membrane efficiency caused shock loads resulting in a deterioration in treatment efficiency and sludge settling characteristics. Although the pilot plant achieved satisfactory reductions, soluble COD levels were not decreased to the level of 10 to 15 mg l -1 required to enable the reuse of the permeate. In order to determine if low substrate levels could be achieved when aerobically treating R/O permeate from an efficient membrane plant, a laboratory scale reactor was used to treat permeate with a COD of 200 mg l-1. It was established that R/O permeate could be aerobically treated to levels suitable for reuse, provided the previous membrane processes performed efficiently.Item Integrated water quality management in Thailand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Resource and Environmental Planning, Massey University,(Massey University, 1995) Siriwan, ChandanachulakaThis thesis analyses the theoretical requirements for an integrated approach to freshwater resource management. The New Zealand and the Thai systems are then compared to understand •variations between the two systems of planning at three different stages - Pre-Implementation, Implementation and Post-Implementation Stages. Finally, recommendations are made for improving the Thai system. The research findings confirm that the New Zealand system measures up to criteria for ensuring sustainable development of freshwater resources. The system provides for planning based on river catchments and a variety of policy instruments may be used to achieve country objectives at all levels in the system. The Thai system provides for planning and developing of policy at national level and some parts of decision-making are delegated to the provincial level. At the implementation stage, the New Zealand system provides for a non-regulatory approach. Whereas, in Thailand, methods of policy implementation based on regulatory approach, are well-developed. At Post Implementation stage, the New Zealand system provides for a monitoring system and less severe penalties than Thailand, where the system does not explicitly provide for monitoring, but severe penalties are imposed for deliberate actions to pollute rivers. The findings suggest that the Thai system of water resources management can be improved in a number of ways, but the fragmentation of the planning process is the principle obstacle. Besides that, various future research areas identify which improvements to river water quality management in Thailand are a priority.Item Development and evaluation of methodology for the characterization of effluent discharges : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (in Soil Science) at Massey University(Massey University, 1977) Cooke, James GraingerThe establishment of a meaningful framework within which to apply management decisions concerning the present and any future water quality standards requires that data on the composition of effluents and their impact on receiving waters be available. The collection of these data requires the application of methodology which will allow for an adequate characterisation of the effluent discharge. Previous work, and the results of a questionnaire sent to Regional Water Boards, indicated an acute need for methodological guidelines to be established with respect to the sampling and analysis of effluent discharges. This study is concerned with the development and evaluation of methodology for the characterisation of: (i) a municipal sewage effluent, (ii) a freezing works effluent, and (iii) a dairy shed effluent, in terms of the currently used criteria of water quality, and phosphorus and nitrogen forms. To determine the best preservative treatment for nitrogen and phosphorus forms in filtered and unfiltered samples of sewage and freezing works effluents, two preservative amendments (mercuric chloride and N-Serve) plus one control (unamended) were tested in combination with three storage temperatures (room, 4C, -10C) over a 30-day storage period. No one preservative treatment was ideal for all N and P forms studied for both effluents. In general, however, it was concluded that: (i) -1OC was the best storage temperature for dissolved inorganic phosphorus and dissolved ammonium nitrogen but was unsuitable for analyses involving particulates (total ammonium nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen) or organics (dissolved Kjeldahl nitrogen, total Kjeldahl nitrogen) for which refrigeration at 4C was the best storage temperature, and (ii) No preservative amendment was necessary for sewage effluent samples provided samples were stored at 4C or -10C (as appropriate); however, even with temperature control the addition of 50 mg HgCl2 -1 of effluent greatly assisted in the preservation of N and P forms in freezing works effluent. The survival of indicator bacteria (total coliforms, faecal coliforms, and faecal streptococci) in samples of each of the three effluents was investigated. Membrane filtrations commenced within 30 min. of sample collection and after 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24 hours storage at room temperature and 4C. The results indicated that samples of the effluents under consideration could be stored for up to 6-9 hours at 4C before appreciable changes in their indicator bacterial composition became apparent. Monitoring studies were carried out on each of the effluent discharges. Sampling was from 1 to 3 days duration at intervals of not greater than 2 hours. Each effluent was characterised in terms of N and P forms, indicator bacteria, oxygen-demand parameters, solids, and pH. In addition UV absorbance at 250 nm and absorbance at the dominant 'visible' absorbance peak was determined on filtered samples. Correlation coefficients of up to 0.98 between absorbance at 250 nm and a variety of organic or organically-related parameters indicated that UV absorbance at this wavelength could be a monitoring aid for effluent surveillance programmes. Time- and flow-based variations in flow, and concentration and loading of analytical parameters in the effluent discharges were discussed in terms of possible factors affecting the determination of sampling frequency. A computer integration method and probability plots were used to determine the sampling frequency needed to characterise concentration and loading of analytical parameters in effluents to within prescribed limits of accuracy.Item The impact of stormwater discharges on freshwater, marine water and marine sediments and the implications for environmental management of the Pauatahanui Inlet, Porirua, New Zealand: A thesis prepared in partial fulfilment of Masters of Applied Science (Natural Resource Management), Massey University.(Massey University, 2002) Hooper, Kathryn LA survey of Cu, Pb, Zn and Cr levels in sediment cores taken at four locations in the Pauatahanui Inlet has been undertaken in conjunction with a freshwater and marine water quality survey. Levels of heavy metals in sediment were within the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality for the protection of Aquatic Ecosystems, [Interim Sediment Quality Guideline (ISQG) (high level of protection)]. Sediments in the vicinity of discharges from suburban catchments showed higher levels of Cu, Pb, Zn and Cr than those in the vicinity of rural catchments. Levels of Cu, Pb and Zn in streams in the suburban catchments exceeded guideline levels for 99% species protection on occasions, and guidelines for Cu, Pb and Cd were exceeded in marine water. Elevated concentrations of heavy metals in marine and freshwater coincided with rainfall events and increased suspended sediment levels, indicating stormwater discharges as a contributing source of the contaminants. Levels of N and P exceeded guideline trigger values in freshwater tributaries on occasions. There was no distinct difference between the rural and suburban catchments in terms of nutrient levels detected. Levels of bacteria present (E-Coli and Enterococci) exceeded NZ guideline levels for contact recreation purposes after rainfall events. Heavy metals in stormwater were attributed to transport sources. Control of these discharges will likely be ‘end of pipe’ in nature due to the diffuse nature of the heavy metal inputs, and the difficulties in controlling emissions from vehicles at source.