Council won’t stand still on water quality
Its flagship freshwater project is going from strength to strength but the Taranaki Regional Council isn’t resting on its laurels.
The success of the Riparian Management Scheme was highlighted in the council’s 2016-17 annual report which showed more than 4.66 million native plants had been supplied to landowners since the programme began in 1996.
More than 99.5 per cent of the region’s 1721 dairy farms have riparian plans in place on their farms. The plans cover more than 14,500km of streambank and plan holders have fenced 85 per cent of their streams and protected 70 per cent with planting.
TRC chairman David MacLeod said the scheme was New Zealand’s largest stream-bank fencing and planting programme and was producing dividends for Taranaki in improving trends in water quality.
However, the council would continue to work towards improving water quality in the region and push for recognition of the investment already made by farmers.
‘‘This long-term, voluntary and collaborative approach to riparian management adopted from the outset, we believe, has achieved much greater buy-in and commitment from farmers than any regulatory approach could have achieved,’’ he said.
‘‘Clearly, the need for and benefits of riparian fencing and planting to farmers is widely accepted and understood across the region, which puts Taranaki in a leadership position nationally.’’
The council continued to advocate strongly for national policy directions on water quality to take account of the huge investment by the community already taking place in regions like Taranaki.
Failure to do so would be like being punished for doing the right thing, MacLeod said.
‘‘The council determined that it was not going to stand still on necessary and achievable improvements to water quality and was not going to wait for the national debate over water quality to settle down.’’
Earlier this year, TRC released its Requirements for good farm management in Taranaki ,a 32-page booklet outlining the council’s expectations of the farming sector.
Many of the changes required, for example a move to land disposal of farm dairy effluent, were in line with national policy.
Land-based systems were regarded as best practice and, in most cases, Taranaki farmers renewing their effluent disposal consents were already required to move to land-based systems.
In the year to June 30, 26 farm dairy effluent consents were processed under the requirements document, resulting in effluent being directed to land after a short transition period. This represented 3.7 per cent of consents so far directed to land.
A copy of the plain-English guide had been delivered to every rural box-holder in the region and was designed to be farmers’ first port of call for information on their environmental obligations, MacLeod said.
‘‘It covers everything from dairy effluent and streambank protection to earthworks, fertiliser application and use of sprays,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s essential reading for those working on the land.’’