Gerald Cunningham alleges nothing has changed to improve or protect Otago's polluted waterways, while Otago Regional Council chief executive PeterBodeker responds, claiming the council's strategy to maintain and advance water quality is working.
• Otago waterways still deep in it
Champion Kiwi sailor Sir Peter Blake, in his last journal entry before being killed by pirates in the Amazon in 2001, wrote: ''The quality of water and the quality of life in all its infinite forms are critical parts of the overall, ongoing health of this planet of ours, not just here in the Amazon, but everywhere ...''
Sir Peter was talking about water quality in a global sense, but his sentiments could equally be applied to water quality issues in Otago.
Several years ago, the Otago Regional Council, with significant input from the Otago community, began to develop new water quality rules to combat the effects of growing land use intensification, particularly from farming.
Two key objectives in the development of this strategic approach to maintaining and improving water quality were: that people could safely swim in our rivers, lakes, and streams; and that economic use of productive land would continue to benefit the region.
Fast forward to 2014, and our newly introduced rules combine permitted and prohibited activities and a requirement that the quality of water leaving a property is at or below a maximum permissible limit of nutrients, E.coli, and sediment.
There are two distinct potential sources of waterway pollution: point-source contamination, which comes from identified sources, such the pipes discharging from factories and wastewater treatment plants, and non-point source pollution, which the new rules target.
Non-point source pollution comes from a variety of less obvious sources, such as uncontrolled surface run-off, groundwater seepage, or subsurface drains.
The most significant difference between non-point source and point-source contamination is that the aggregate of many minor non-point-source discharge contaminants can have cumulative effects greater than those of the point sources.
Polluted run-off has a range of effects depending on the specific water body. The most significant of these are:
• Transmission of bugs into drinking and recreation water.
• Serious risk to human health from using polluted water.
• Contaminated fisheries and wildlife.
• Pollution of downstream water through contaminant accumulation.
I believe we have struck the right balance in ensuring the wider Otago community and visitors to the region can rely on water being safe to swim in and enjoy similar water-based pursuits like fishing, while ensuring our new rules are not so punitive they make it impossible for landowners and managers to comply.
Most swimming holes in Otago are already safe to swim in.
The new rules are designed to ensure that where they are not, improvements in land management practices will reduce, if not eliminate any risk.
Developing a balanced package of rules has not been without difficulty.
However, while we will never satisfy everyone, the degree of community buy-in we have had gives me comfort that we are on the right track.
Water monitoring samples, now taken monthly from 77 sites around the region, will give us up-to-date data on the emerging water quality trends in Otago waterways.
All ORC field staff will engage with industry groups, continue to work closely with landholders, advising on water quality monitoring matters and the requirements of the rules.
We are encouraging landowners to start actively monitoring the water quality discharging from their properties now, rather than leaving it until closer to 2020 to ensure they comply with the rules.
All landowners must embark on observations to identify if and where contaminant discharge might not be complying with the water quality rules.
The basic rule of thumb is that if they can see it, we can see it.
I reject Mr Cunningham's assertion that we have ''an in-house culture of unwillingness to move on complaints''.
We have the highest record of prosecution of any regional council where discharges of effluent to water are concerned, with seven this year.
Just as individual landowners are responsible for the quality of water leaving their property and for ensuring that prohibited activities are not undertaken on that land, ORC's responsibility will be to monitor compliance and where there are breaches, see that appropriate enforcement action is taken.
We will do this particularly over the next three to four years.
Properties that do not comply can expect, in the first instance, regular contact with our staff, encouraging the uptake of measures to ensure compliance.
As well as on-the-ground inspections, aerial inspections to detect areas of non-compliance on all properties will soon become more frequent.
ORC will continue to respond to notifications of non-compliance that we receive from the public or observe ourselves.
Our emphasis is on education, working alongside individuals and industry groups to maximise landholder knowledge of what is required of them.
I have been struck during my travels around the region at the number of farmers who are already embracing the introduction of the new rules and changing land management practices to reduce contaminants to water.
This is a very good sign.
There will always be a minority who refuse to do the right thing.
Our responsibility, as the regulator, is then to enforce compliance where non-compliance has occurred.
As the guardian of Otago's waterways, it is our responsibility to do our bit in our little corner of the world to ensure that we don't undermine the quality of life that Sir Peter talked about 14 years ago.
