Stream ‘flowing green with effluent’
A farming company has been convicted and fined $41,850 for discharging a large volume of dairy effluent into the Mangatete Stream. Judge Melanie Harland convicted and fined Bella Ridge Farms Limited in the Rotorua District Court this week for discharging the effluent into the waterway. The prosecution was brought by Waikato Regional Council after being contacted by a member of the public who reported that the waterway in Reporoa, 30 minutes south of Rotorua, was ‘‘flowing green with effluent’’. The council estimated that 450 cubic metres of dairy effluent was discharged when the incident occurred in November 2016. This is the equivalent of 17 truck and trailer units full of effluent. The volume was such that it was able to be detected eight kilometres downstream at Lake Ohakuri. The subsequent investigation found that an effluent irrigation pipe had been disconnected. Effluent had then been siphoned from the pipe by virtue of gravity over a 14 hour period. The effluent flowed across a short distance of land and into the stream. Waikato Regional Council urges dairy farmers to seek advice about effluent management from accredited experts following the conviction of a Reporoa farming company. The council’s investigations and incident response manager Patrick Lynch, said the incident was completely avoidable. ‘‘The farmer had invested heavily in attempts to manage his effluent, however, he did not source good advice. ‘‘The system did not have the usual safeguards and this discharge was the outcome. ‘‘We strongly urge farmers to work with accredited dairy effluent designers to ensure their systems are fit for purpose.’’ Bella Ridge Farms Limited director Ian Rew declined to comment on the conviction.
‘‘The system did not have the usual safeguards and this discharge was the outcome’’.