ANZECC water quality guidelines - Frequently Asked Questions
In this section you will find answers to questions raised both during development and following publication of the Water Quality Guidelines. If you have any other questions about the guidelines, fill in the FAQ form. A response will be posted on this site as soon as possible.
- Who will need to use these Guidelines (Do I need to worry about them)?
- Will the new Guidelines be incorporated into regional plans and consents, and, if so, what are the implications for me?
- How do the new Guidelines differ from the earlier (1992) Guidelines?
- What is the 'risk-based' approach and how does it work; what was wrong with the earlier (1992) Guidelines' approach?
- As well as toxicants and physical and chemical indicators, the new document now incorporates guidelines for sediments as well as detailed information on biological assessment. Are we now expected to measure all of these indicator types?
- We are a small operation that may not have the resources to undertake an expensive site-specific investigation?
- The size and technical nature of the documents make them difficult for most people to follow; there still needs to be provision for an alternative approach which provides for an initial assessment which does not require a high level of scientific expertise?
- I've heard that the default trigger values, especially for toxicants, are more conservative (and possibly less attainable) than the values listed in the previous (1992) Guidelines.
- Do the Guidelines apply to ecosystems in all conditions of health?
- The concept of using reference sites to determine the natural levels of stressors or natural biological condition, is an important feature of the Guidelines. In many parts of New Zealand, it is almost impossible to find reference sites of a sufficiently high quality for this purpose. It is also likely that high quality reference sites would result in unrealistic comparisons and expectations of surface water quality in highly modified systems of New Zealand.
- What method of analysis should I use to determine metal & metalloid concentrations for comparison against the guidelines?
- Why is nitrate more toxic than ammonia?
