Water Quality
The river is heavily polluted with industrial waste, treated sewage, and nutrient land runoff from dairy farms. In 2006 Fonterra were criticised for an application to discharge 8500 m3 of wastewater into the Manawatu River. In 2009, the Cawthron Institute found that the river had the highest gross primary production (GPP) compared to 300 rivers and streams in the Western world. High GPP rates are an indication of poor ecological health and can lead to various environmental issues. In 2011, the Horizons Regional Council laid blame with the Palmerston North City Council for "considerable" and "sustained" breaches of one of its discharge consents, and some degree of non-compliance with two others. A report by the Ministry for the Environment ranked 76 New Zealand sites for water clarity and E. coli levels. Using those measures, they found four other New Zealand rivers rate worse than the Manawatu (the Waitara, Whanganui, Waipa and Rangitikei).
Read more about this topic: Manawatu River
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