Tararua District mayor Roly Ellis says he's extremely disappointed Fish and Game and the Environmental Defence Society have decided to take legal action against the Horizons Regional Council, with legal costs another drain on our economy.
"Tararua District Council has worked extremely hard with Horizons during the last six years to constructively make sure nitrogen and phosphorous readings have been brought down in our rivers," he said.
"This has been a dual approach with dairy farmers and TDC's desludging of our wastewater ponds, lining them and putting in further upgraded filtration systems. Ratepayers have contributed major money towards this implementation."
Mr Ellis said as a farmer in England who went through the process in the 1970s and 80s, he knows it takes time to correct these problems.
"Dairy farmers in this region have put in a vast number of kilometres of fencing and better effluent ponds, which entails major capital spending," he said.