Environment Canterbury (ECan) voted by 9-7 to declare a nitrate emergency following a motion from retiring councillor Vicky Southworth at a council meeting on Wednesday.

Cr Grant Edge backed the motion, citing concerns over high nitrate levels in private wells in the Selwyn, Ashburton and Waimate districts, and at Oxford.

‘‘I have been advocating for improvements [in nitrate levels] since 2009 when I joined the Waimakariri Zone Committee and the latest annual groundwater survey revealed 62 percent of those wells [tested] showed increased trends and Ashburton was the highest.

‘‘When there are high nitrates in wells, it is not the well users who cause the contamination, it is upstream.’’

Cr Claire McKay said she wanted safe water for drinking and swimming, but the high nitrate levels did not constitute an emergency.

‘‘This makes a mockery of all our plans and it must be embarrassing to staff, given all the work they have put in.’’

She said in the 1950s there were concerns about drinking water affecting the health of pregnant women in the Waimakariri district - ‘‘and that pre-dates dairying’’.

However, Cr Southworth said the evidence showed nitrate levels were getting worse.

She called on the council to take a leadership role in declaring a nitrate emergency.

Her motion was backed by both Ngāi Tahu councillors, Tutehounuku Korako and Iaean Cranwell.

Cr Korako said the Papatipu Rūnanga were concerned about state of freshwater in Canterbury and Te Rūnanga o Waihao addressed ECan earlier in the year.

‘‘At Waihao they’re having to truck water into their own marae.’’

Cr Peter Scott said he could not support declaring a nitrate emergency, but could have supported declaring a ‘‘nitrate crisis’’.

Deputy chairperson Deon Swiggs suggested declaring a ‘‘drinking water crisis’’, as E.coli was also a serious issue.

Crs Ian MacKenzie, John Sunckell and Nick Ward saw the motion as ‘‘virtue signalling’’ and an attack farmers, who were working to reduce nitrate levels.

Federated Farmers vice president Colin Hurst said the decision was a ‘‘shameless political stunt’’.

‘‘It’s incredibly disappointing to see ECan playing these kinds of petty political games.

‘‘Declaring a nitrate emergency isn’t helpful or constructive. All it will do is create unnecessary panic and drive a wedge between our urban and rural communities.’’

Greenpeace staged a rally outside the council building before the meeting, where environmentalists and private well owners expressing their frustrations at the lack of progress in addressing rising nitrate levels.

The lobby group’s freshwater campaigner Will Appelbe said the decision was long overdue, but ‘‘real action must follow’’.

Just last week, ECan received three reports on water quality in Canterbury, including the annual groundwater survey.

A Selwyn pilot study tested 18 private wells, with eight found to have nitrate-nitrogen levels exceeding the Drinking Water Standards New Zealand maximum acceptable value of 11.3mg/L, with the highest being 15.2 mg/L.

Several councillors called for less talk and more action after receiving those reports.

CORRECTION - Updated at 10:05 Friday 19 September: Cr Deon Swiggs suggested declaring a "drinking water crisis" not a "drinking water emergency," as previously stated.

Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air