NZ water problems \parencite{cullen}:

- water management through regional councils:
  - regional policy statements + regional plans
  - unless authorised by plan discharges require resource consents
  
impact of agriculture on water:

- primary source of non-point discharges
  - application of fertiliser and pesticides
  - discharges from the soil and animals
  - materials move into surface and groundwater at higher rates than usual


monitoring / significance implications:
- lack of reliable data against which to draw conclusions for key parameters in all regions
- lack of approved plans relating to water in some regions
  - require councils to set realistic goals and objectives; difficult
    because has to reconcile urban recreational and environmental
    requirements with rural economic demands
  - too little policy direction from central government
- even without these plans, councils must process resource consent applications
- lack of monitoring and enforcement
  - low compliance
  - impossible to determine the efficacy of management practices
- limited knowledge on how to best deal with non-point source discharges
- little knowledge about what the community wants and expects wrt water management