Callum Fissenden, of Dunedin, got his Nissan Terrano muddy at the Brass Monkey Rally earlier this month and planned to wash it by driving through a ford in East Taieri ''at least a dozen times''.
His plans were blocked by another ute submerged in the Silver Stream, in Gladfield Rd.
The Otago Daily Times coverage of the postponed clean prompted the council to respond.
Council director policy planning and resource management Fraser McRae said cleaning vehicles in waterways was not permitted under the Otago water plan.
The cleaning method could disturb the bed of a river and disrupt and pollute spawning grounds for native and exotic fish, and potentially harm water quality.
''We wouldn't accept this from farmers, so we urge others not to wash their vehicles in rivers and streams either.''
A commercial car wash would cost less than the fine for breaching the plan, he said.
Despite the warning. Mr Fissenden vowed continue to wash his 4WD in the ford.
''It's an absolute laugh. I'm driving through a public road, which I'm allowed to do.''
He did not expect the cleaning method to damage the river bed.
''I'm not driving up and down the river, I'm driving through the bloody ford.
''I think at the end of the day, some of these greenies need to wake up and get their heads out of the ground.''
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First time we've heard of 'greenie' involvement. You say 'ford', we used to say 'watercourse'. To get through in a 2WD, you give 'her' the gun. At these times, we couldn't help noticing the huge outward wake, which did not clean the car at all. No matter how many times you drive through, only the wheels are cleaned.
Mr Fissenden is just re-enforcing the common view that 4WD owners don't give a rats about the environment or anything but their own amusement. If they damage high country tracks and streams then it just doesn't matter.
He could help dissuade that view by bringing his thinking into this century, not the 19th century.
What an utterly disgraceful attitude. Forget the greenies, this man needs to remove his head from where it is obviously placed.
Being a greenie is not a bad thing. Neither is driving your vehicle repeatedly through a legal road ford (though I'd question how effective that is). Whatever is getting washed off the car in the ford would have been washed off in the rain, and it all ends up in the same place. Suspect the ORC spokesperson just misunderstood the situation.
Quite right. What's a man to do? We're told personal responsibility, then told off for doing our own thing in our own time.
At least he never said 'PC gone mad'.
depending on how mud covered his vehicle is, where does he think all the mud goes? it goes down the creek to smother the creek bed - not a good thing ecologically (or visually). Nor is it good if the mud is contaminated. One vehicle once in a while might not be a problem but if done regularly and each time 12x, and everyone else joins in, problems will ensue.
So what if its a public road? even less reason to abuse it. Better to wash the vehicle down with a hose and brush on grass well away from waterways.
This cavalier attitude reveals a deep disconnect with the natural environment. No respect.
O we are being so PC snowflakes