Hawke's Bay farming company charged over dairy effluent discharge

A farming company has been charged after roughly 182,000 litres of dairy effluent was allegedly discharged from a Patoka farm into a tributary of the Mangatutu Stream.

The significant farm dairy effluent discharge into the tributary, which flows into the Tutaekuri River, occured on December 23, 2019.

The Tutaekuri River flows east from the Kaweka Range, reaching the Pacific Ocean just to the south of Napier, where the Ngaruroro and Clive Rivers join it.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council launched an investigation into the discharge, which led to it issuing a public warning not to swim in the river at the Expressway Bridge for several days.

The investigation is now completed, with the first court hearing scheduled to take place on April 17.