Nitrate Levels in Jersey's Water - Ministerial Response - 19 May 2017

Findings

Comments

1

Nitrate contamination is having a clear and significant  impact  on  Jersey's  public  water supplies, private water supplies and on the sea lettuce in St. Aubin's Bay.

Agree.

2

Whilst it is acknowledged that the prevalence of  sea  lettuce  in  Jersey  is  influenced  by  a number  of  different  factors,  measures  to reduce  nitrate  loading  on  land  will significantly improve the sea lettuce problem.

The  Department  of  the  Environment ("DoE")  agree  with  this  finding. However, it is important to be aware that the trigger-point for sea lettuce growth in St. Aubin's  Bay  is  not  yet known/predicted. I am therefore unware of the level of nutrient reduction required to reduce sea lettuce growth. If funding becomes available, the Department will undertake modelling of nutrient pressure affecting the Bay, which will hopefully enable predictions of nutrient reduction vs. sea lettuce growth to be made.

3

Nitrate  removal  facilities  at  the  Sewage Treatment  Plant  or Jersey  Water  should  be considered a solution of last resort. Treatment of water at this stage would not improve the quality of our stream water or private water supplies.

Agree.

Findings

Comments

4

The dominant cause of high nitrate levels in Jersey's public water supplies is the practice of early potato growing, combined with the subsequent land uses after the early potatoes are harvested.

Agree.

5

High nitrate levels that are affecting private water supplies are likely to be the result of poor compliance with basic good practice in nutrient management, the siting of septic tank discharges,  farmyard  waste  management measures and old landfill sites.

Agree.

6

The  two  main  sources  of  the  sea  lettuce problem in St. Aubin's Bay are a combination of  effluent  from  the  Bellozanne  Treatment Works, and nitrates flowing off farmland into surface water streams and onto the beach.

Agree.

7

Whilst there are signs of some improvement in widespread excessive nitrate loading across the  Island,  the  rate  of  improvement  is  not currently  sufficient  to  meet  the  target deadlines set out in the Water Management Plan.

Agree.

8

The  objectives  contained  within  the  Water Management  Plan  provide  a  good  balance between  what  is  desirable  and  what  is reasonable for a sustainable economy.

Agree.

9

The  Panel  supports  the  Economic Development,  Tourism,  Sport  and  Culture Department  in  undertaking  an  ecosystem services review to help determine the value of Jersey's  environment  to  our  economy  and society.

Noted.

10

A  catchment-based  approach  is  the  best means  of  addressing  the  nitrate  problem  in Jersey.  In  Scotland,  such  an  approach  has raised  compliance  on  farms  from  35%  to 86%.

Agree.

11

The amendments made to the Water Pollution (Jersey) Law 2000 will give the Minister for the Environment greater powers to control the use of fertilisers on land where Jersey's water is being polluted.

Agree.

12

The  new  regulatory  framework  will  be considered a backstop, only to be used if and when necessary.

Agree.

Findings

Comments

13

Incentivisation is a fundamental part of the Water Management Plan and is vital for the success  of  the  Plan's  objectives.  Market assurance  schemes,  such  as  LEAF,  will provide  a  strong  financial  incentive  for farmers  to  comply  with  the  high  standards specified by the organisation.

Agree.

14

Under the new Rural Economy Strategy, the rural  payment  will  become  contingent  on claimants having LEAF accreditation. It has therefore been proposed that the compliance around the new payment will be undertaken by LEAF auditors.

Agree.

15

The difficulty will not be what is written in the  Water  Management  Catchment  Orders, but rather the  ability to achieve  and  assess compliance with the additional requirements that they impose.

Agree.

16

Over the last 10 years the farming community have  been  heavily  involved  in  helping  to reduce levels of nitrates on our Island.

Agree.

17

The vast majority of the agricultural industry are fully supportive of the Water Management Plan and the principal of clean water for our Island in general.

Agree.

18

Reducing the amount of fertiliser applied to fields  would  not  only  significantly  improve Jersey's nitrate problem but would also save farmers a substantial amount of money.

Agree.

19

At least one new full-time equivalent post will be required to undertake both an advisory and compliance  role  in  order  to  successfully deliver  the  Water  Management  Plan objectives across the Island.

Agree.

20

The  additional  requirements  of  the  Water Management  Plan  can  be  funded  out  of existing resources until 2018, after such time additional money will need to be identified.

Existing  resources  until  2018  are dependent  on  the  outcome  of  the requested carry-forward from the States Treasury.  This  carry-forward  is  not sufficient  to  employ  a  catchment/ compliance officer, and additional funds will need to be sought for this.

21

A potential tax on fertilisers and/or pesticides is worthy of consideration. It is possible that such a tax could help fund the employment of a catchment/compliance officer.

Noted.

Findings

Comments

22

The  employment  of  a  new  catchment/ compliance  officer  will  be  crucial  for providing  both  advice  to  support  the achievement  of  compliance  and  assessing compliance.

Agree.

23

Without the sufficient resources available, the success of the Plan and its objectives will be greatly affected.

Agree.

24

Monitoring  the  Island's  water  supply  is essential for determining the ongoing success of the measures contained within the Water Management Plan.

Agree.

25

In  order  to  successfully  address  the  nitrate problem  affecting  the  Island's  public  water supplies,  nitrate  leaching  from  farmland across  the  Island  will  need  to  reduce  by 25–33% from 2016 levels. This will present a significant challenge for the Minister for the Environment and his Department.

I  have  not  placed  a  figure  on  the

reduction required to eliminate the need

of further dispensations post the expiry   in 2021. However, achieving this target

is recognised as a challenge.

26

If improvements continue at the same rate as they  have  been,  point  sources  of  nitrate pollution will be largely addressed within the timescales  set  out  within  the  Water Management  Plan,  which  in  turn  will significantly improve nitrate levels in private water  supplies.  However,  further improvements  will  require  continued  hard work  and  a  close  working  relationship between all key stakeholders.

Agree. I will continue to progress and address point source pollution under the Water Pollution (Jersey) Law 2000.

27

The  Water  Management  Plan  does  not provide any prediction as to whether or not Jersey's sea lettuce problem will be addressed within the required timeframe.

Noted. Work on sea lettuce is a separate work-stream  undertaken  by  the Environmental  Protection  team,  in partnership with colleagues from Marine Resources  from  my  Department,  and colleagues  from  the  Department  for Infrastructure.  A  gap  analysis  of  the ongoing  research  and  monitoring  of nutrient  pressures  affecting  St. Aubin's Bay  is  currently  being  undertaken  by CEFAS  (Centre  for  Environment Fisheries  and  Aquaculture  Science). CEFAS  have  recently  advised  that modelling the nutrient pressures in the Bay will help identify the trigger-point for sea lettuce growth and help predict the amount of nutrient reduction needed to  reduce  its  occurrence.  The  model could also be used to determine/predict

Findings

Comments

the length of time it would take to see changes to sea lettuce growth in the Bay and whether this fits into the timeframe of the Water Management Plan.

28

The  qualitative  assessment  of  the effectiveness  of  Scenario 2b  is  set  against good ecological status' requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive  rather than the objectives of the Plan itself.

Agree.

29

A collaborative working relationship between the  Government,  the  industry  and  Jersey Water is fundamental to the overall success of the Plan in reducing high levels of nitrate in the Island's water.

Agree.

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

1

The  Minister  for  the Environment  should ensure  that  the  use  of incentives,  as  a  tool  to encourage  best  practice and  compliance  among farmers,  is  made  more explicit within the Water Management Plan.

DoE

Accept/ Reject

The  chosen  Scenario 2b recommends  that  rural  payments should  continue.  Rural  payments are  administered  by  the  Minister for  Economic  Development, Tourism,  Sport  and  Culture,  and not  myself.  The  rural  payments were  finalised  after  the  Water Management Plan was published.

Ongoing

2

The  Minister  for  the Environment  must ensure  that  funding  is found  without  delay  to enable a new catchment/ compliance  officer  to begin work.

DoE

Accept

By January 2018

3

The  Minister  for  the Environment  should ensure that the following work  is  carried  out  in respect of water and sea lettuce  monitoring  in Jersey –

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

(a)  Maintain the frequency of water monitoring at current levels throughout the 5-year Water Management Plan.

DoE

Accept

This  work  began  in  2012  and  is already  set  to  continue  as  a  key priority.  Information  obtained  on the  status  of  the  water  quality/ ecology of St. Aubin's Bay will be used to assess the effectiveness of catchment  measures  and  Sewage Treatment Works compliance.

Ongoing

(b) Undertake an in-depth analysis of what the monitoring results mean in order to help understand the relative effectiveness of different types of measures.

DoE

Accept

The  gap  analysis  undertaken  by CEFAS  will  use  historic  and current  monitoring  data  to  assess nutrient trends in St. Aubin's Bay. CEFAS  will  provide  DoE  with advice  on  whether  or  not  the current monitoring of the Bay will enable DoE to effectively measure any  deterioration or improvement of  the  Bay  in  relation  to  a particular  source  of  nitrogen (sewage  treatment  works  or catchment sources). This will give DoE confidence in their ability to assess  the  effectiveness  of catchment  measures  and  whether they can reliably link any changes in the Bay to the source of nitrates.

The  assessment  of  the  water quality status of St. Aubin's Bay, using  the  Water  Framework Directive  ("WFD")  assessment criteria will continue.

Ongoing

(c)  Undertake regular and effective monitoring of the sea lettuce blooms in St. Aubin's Bay. To support this work, at least one long-term flow measurement point is needed in one of the main streams entering St. Aubin's Bay.

DoE

Accept

Officers from my Department have monitored  sea  lettuce  blooms annually  since  2012.  This  will continue.  Current  monitoring includes an  annual assessment of the  bloom  using  the  Water Framework  Directive  assessment criteria (including distribution and biomass), daily photographs using a  time-lapse  camera,  and  weekly photographs from the shore.

A  sentinel  long-term  flow monitoring device was installed in 2016  and  is  currently  being commissioned.

Ongoing – dependent on funding

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

(d) Gather evidence to determine how much of a reduction in nitrogen from the Sewage Treatment Works and nitrate- rich freshwater streams would be required to avoid elevating available nitrogen above the levels found in the offshore waters that surround St. Aubin's Bay.

DoE

Accept

Modelling the nutrient pressures in the  Bay  will  help  identify  the trigger-point for algal growth and help predict the amount of nutrient reduction  needed  to  reduce  the occurrence of sea lettuce. CEFAS have  already  recommended  this approach,  which  is  dependent  on funding.

4

The  Minister  for  the Environment  should ensure  that  broader  EU Water  Framework Directive  requirements are  not  prioritised  until there  is  clear  evidence that the measures of the Water Management Plan are  successful  in improving  Jersey's drinking-water.

DoE

Accept

The  importance  of  public  and private  drinking-water  supplies  is acknowledged,  but  it  is  also recognised  that  there  are  other benefits when using a catchment- based approach, including those to the environmental receptors.

Ongoing

5

The  Minister  for  the Environment  must ensure  that  all  key stakeholders continue to work  closely  together throughout  the  duration of the  Plan  in order to effectively  address  the issue of nitrate levels.

DoE

Accept

Regular  meetings  of  the  Action for  Cleaner  Water  Group'  will continue.

Ongoing