It was the first irrigation company in New Zealand to have environmental management staff, because: ''You have to integrate [environmental management] into everything you do as a business. Same as health and safety - environmental management is also part of that.''
Those keeping an eye on proceedings are not showing any concern, either.
Lower Waitaki River Management Society president Ian McIlraith said the society, which has lobbied against reductions in water flow and the decline of wildlife downstream of major infrastructure since 2005, had no issue with the irrigation company.
''The society has never been opposed to irrigation at all - we're only advocating for efficient irrigation and sustainable land use,'' he said.
Last year, a North Otago Irrigation Company irrigator was fined $24,920 for discharging effluent to saturated land ''in a manner that would enter a waterway''.
Since that breach the farm had been compliant, the Otago Regional Council said, and it believed the North Otago Irrigation Company was making a ''concerted effort to improve environmental outcomes''.
Council chairman Stephen Woodhead said ''a large amount of work'' was under way on farms serviced by the irrigation company to improve water quality and the council supported the company's approach to improving environmental outcomes.
Mrs Wells said member farmers were asked to self-audit in five areas: irrigation, effluent, riparian, soils and nutrients.
That set expectations for farmers and offers feedback ''around whether they are achieving best practice or not''.
IrrigationNZ described the company's audited self-management scheme as ''groundbreaking'' and awarded it the Innovation Award.
If the company did not have confidence in a farmer based on audit results, Mrs Wells said, the company would put the farmer on a formal action plan to improve their behaviour.
''Ultimately, if they don't improve their behaviours, we can turn the water off,'' Mrs Wells said.
''We have turned water off before.''
