Marlborough’s wine industry is calling for its water supply to be exempt from chlorination to safeguard the region’s famed wine production, particularly its sauvignon blanc. The industry warns that current water treatment rules could have detrimental effects on the wider sector.
Under New Zealand’s water regulations, public water supplies are required to use residual disinfection, most commonly chlorine, unless they obtain an exemption from the Water Services Authority, Taumata Arowai. Chlorine is used to eliminate pathogens that might contaminate drinking water after its treatment, ensuring its safety for consumption.
Currently, five out of seven of Marlborough’s water supplies are chlorinated. The remaining unchlorinated supply in Blenheim is set to be chlorinated by late July when two new dosing plants are completed. The Riverlands and Cloudy Bay Industrial Estates, home to approximately 10 wineries and 30 homes, are the only remaining areas without chlorinated water.
For winemakers, even small traces of chlorine, such as those used in cleaning wine tanks, pose a significant risk. Chlorine reacts with certain fungi in wine, causing a “corked” effect that negatively affects both the smell and taste of the wine.
In December, Wine Marlborough, the industry association for local winegrowers, presented concerns about chlorination to both the Marlborough District Council and Taumata Arowai. This week, during submissions on the Local Government (Water Services) Bill, the group reiterated that chlorination poses a substantial threat to Marlborough’s wine production.
Ruth Berry, advocacy manager for Wine Marlborough, highlighted the potential risks during her testimony before the Finance and Expenditure subcommittee. “Residual disinfection in the reticulated water supply, which is achieved through chlorination, poses a significant risk to more than 50 percent of New Zealand’s wine production,” Berry said, noting that this represents around $1.2 billion in annual export earnings.
Berry stressed that compliance with water chlorination regulations is overly burdensome for the wine sector. “The impact and cost of compliance are disproportionate to the scale, complexity, and risk of what is essentially an industrial water supply, with very few residential households,” she explained.
Unlike rural wineries that can use private water supplies, Marlborough’s wine producers face unique challenges due to their concentration in the area. Many wineries cannot access unchlorinated groundwater due to a lack of suitable sources or over-allocation by the local council.
The Marlborough District Council has expressed its support for Wine Marlborough’s request for an exemption, and it plans to file an exemption application for the water supply in the coming months. The council has proposed a 20-30 year exemption period, with five-year compliance checks, instead of the standard five-year exemption period.
Council representatives, including Mayor Nadine Taylor and Chief Executive John Boswell, argue that the current requirement is incompatible with the investment needed to ensure a safe, unchlorinated water supply. “All wineries faced with a chlorinated water supply will be challenged with the de-chlorination necessary to eliminate the risks chlorine poses to wine production,” the council’s submission stated.
As of now, Taumata Arowai has not received an exemption application from either Wine Marlborough or the Marlborough District Council. Previous applications for exemptions from other regions, such as Christchurch and Wellington, have been denied, though there have been successful applications at over 680 Department of Conservation sites where regular testing is impractical.
Marlborough’s wine sector, which has experienced a 300 percent growth since 2000, accounts for approximately 80 percent of New Zealand’s wine exports and provides 20 percent of the region’s jobs. The industry’s growth and economic significance make it especially sensitive to the impact of chlorinated water on production.
In light of this, the industry is urging a reconsideration of the water chlorination policy to protect both the quality of Marlborough’s wine and the broader economic health of the region.
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