Our mission

Dairy farming is central to New Zealand’s economy, but how we are farming is having an impact on our lowland freshwater ecosystems.

Our streams, lakes, rivers, lagoons and coastal estuaries are being impacted by high levels of nutrients, sediment, effluent and other contaminants. Freshwater ecosystems have been reduced and degraded.

We need to change this because water is a key part of our national identity and New Zealanders expect to be able to swim, fish and gather kai in our waterbodies. 

Fonterra and the Department of Conservation both recognise that New Zealand’s economic, cultural and social wellbeing depend on healthy ecosystems. So they have joined forces to respond to the farming and freshwater challenge.

Living Water is designing and trialling solutions to improve freshwater ecosystems and accelerate sustainable farming in five catchments. We are doing this by reducing dairy farming impacts on freshwater and increasing the resilience of our lowland freshwater ecosystems.

Living Water is on a mission to build connections which will drive better outcomes for the environment, the economy and New Zealanders.

Living Water is a champion of change. Changing how we think about the challenge, changing how we work together to solve problems, and changing how we implement solutions.

Living Water will work with others to co-design the solutions, try them out in five catchments, cost them, and then plan how to take them to scale across New Zealand.