NRC staff checking consents caught this effluent-rich water before it polluted a river.
NRC staff checking consents caught this effluent-rich water before it polluted a river.
Nearly half of Northland's 965 dairy farms did not meet consent conditions for effluent management in the past year and one in five farms chalked up significant breaches.
That means more than 190 farms - 20 per cent of all dairying in the region - were found to directly causedownstream water pollution.
The Northland Regional Council's (NRC) monitoring shows that in 2014/15 only 54 per cent of dairy farms met all their consent requirements to ensure cow effluent and other farm discharge did not wash downstream.
Another 26 per cent of farms had minor compliance issues.
The number which is "significantly non-complying" shows a rise from 16 per cent the year before to 20 per cent, but NRC staff say it has more to do with vigilant monitoring than a slide in land management practices.
We're often as disappointed as them when things go wrong because often it's just not their fault.
A wet winter - some say it was the wettest in 100 years - didn't help, with the sheer volume of run-off alone being responsible for untreated effluent pouring into waterways.
But "minor non-compliance" could be water weed on an effluent pond's surface, said Tess Dacre, NRC monitoring programme manager.
"It is something the farmer should be attending to but it doesn't make a lot of difference," Ms Dacre said.
Temporary non-compliance could be caused by one-off mechanical failure in an irrigator or a blockage that sent hard-stand effluent down the stormwater drain instead of into a holding pond, Ms Dacre said.
Water samples are typically taken 20m below the point of discharge. Every case where a sample exceeds the consent limits is classified as significantly non-complying, Ms Dacre said. Investigations take into account why it occurred, how often and adverse effects on the environment.
There were few farmers who had repeat con-compliance. "We're often as disappointed as them when things go wrong because often it's just not their fault," Ms Dacre said.
While the NRC's high non-compliance figures looked bad in some lights, it reflected a tougher monitoring regime and possibly less tolerance than other regional councils, she said.
Land users who were found repeatedly breaching consents and other environmental standards faced prosecution and hefty fines.
Since 2009 the Environment Court had increased its fines to send a clear message to dairy farmers. Between 2008 and 2012, 48.5 per cent of New Zealand's 459 Environment Court prosecutions related to dairy discharge.
In September 2013 Waipu dairy farmer Craig Roberts was fined a record $157,074 by the Environment Court.
