Officials try to allay water quality fears

"Your septic tanks are a bigger risk," the Otago Regional Council's John Threlfall told Hawea Flat residents yesterday at a public meeting to discuss the effects of intensive dairy farming on their water quality.

Held in the Hawea Community Hall, the meeting was addressed by council chairman Stephen Woodhead and the council's environmental information and science director Dr Threlfall.

They faced a barrage of questions from concerned locals who wanted assurances that their water quality would be protected, in the face of further development of intensive dairy farming in the area.

Camphill Station is being developed into two dairy farms, which will together cover 200 hectares and carry up to 1000 cows.

Mr Woodhead said that intensive farming and irrigation systems were not new in Hawea Flat and that the council had been looking at the area for some time.

Dr Threlfall said the council wanted to allow good farming to progress, and at the same time maintain and protect water quality.

"We cannot offer any guarantees," he said. "But your septic tanks are a bigger risk, and local monitoring will indicate water quality changes long before deterioration becomes dangerous."

Locals continued to voice their concerns however, and Hawea resident and co-founder of Preserve Our Water, Mark Thomas, wanted to know who would take responsibility for preserving Hawea Flat's current high water quality.

Dr Threlfall said: "It's our responsibility to enforce ORC's water plan. Our permitted rules are quite stringent and aim to maintain present water quality levels."

Mr Woodhead added that the 400 dairy farms in Otago are inspected annually, and that it would take "one helluva an event" for dairy effluent to pollute local rivers.

Hawea locals will have a further chance to voice their concerns about water quality protection, when the council calls for public submissions on its Water Plan in April.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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Scotty   #2   04:08 pm Sep 26 2011

History is likely to show" the one helluva event" that Dr Threlfall is refering to,is the decision to allow intensive dairy farming in a area like Hawea Flat.

aw   #1   09:23 am Sep 26 2011

How on earth did he get away with a comment like that - did no-one ask for any figures? Septic tanks are localised (and the owners notice very quickly when something goes wrong), unlike diary farms. Nitrate levels are causing the shutting down of wells in Canterbury and other places. And by the time the nitrate makes it to the aquafers you have 20 years of backlog in the soil to clear. Not to mention the damage to unprotected waterways that don't have sufficient riparian planting.

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