High concentrations of phosphate and nitrate in the south and southeast, due to farming, is a particular concern according to the EPA

The country’s environmental watchdog is warning almost half of the country’s lakes, rivers, estuaries and coastal waterways are in poor condition.

The Environmental Protection Agency says they’re under significant pressure from human activity and need to be better protected.

It says high concentrations of phosphate and nitrate in the south and southeast, due to farming, is a particular concern.

EPA spokesperson Mary Gurrie says the high nutrient levels are a big problem “Nitrogen and phosphorus are fertilisers, when it gets into water bodies it causes excessive plant growth and algae growth and that knocks out the ecosystem of the river or the estuary and it can change the habitats and change the ecology so a very detrimental effect on the water quality and on the ecosystem of the river, high nitrate levels they’re a problem for drinking water quality because they can breach the drinking water standard and that then can have an impact on human health”.