Common sense must be applied to Otago Regional Council water regulations, farmers say.
Thirteen farmers made submissions at the seventh day of a regional hearing in Balclutha yesterday, referring to what they called unrealistic targets for water quality and the impracticality of options to meet proposed standards.
Clinton Gorge farmers Mervyn and Judy Mitchell said they were good stewards of the land but it was impossible to farm without making an environmental impact.
"You need to get this into perspective. You can create rules that provide squeaky-clean quality but there won't be a thriving agriculture industry in Otago," Mr Mitchell said.
He told panel members about an attempt to retrieve a dead sheep from a creek, which resulted in him being taken to hospital in an ambulance.
He said it was not always easy or possible to clean waterways. His family and staff's safety was paramount.
The Mitchells drank water from their property, swam in waterways and fished from creeks.
They said variable factors out of their control, including snow and rainfall, would at times put them in breach of proposed standards.
Clydevale dairy farmer Stephen Crawford said the council seemed to be targeting farmers while ignoring town and city residents, who contributed to polluted waterways throughout Otago.
He was not trying to "bash the towns" and acknowledged farmers had a part to play, but called for a wider approach to discharge regulations.
Mr Crawford said he had recently spent more than $1 million on work to ensure his farming practices were clean, but even that would be insufficient to satisfy proposed changes.
"They are not realistic. The simple economic truth is if [changes were imposed] the province of Otago would go broke."
Mr Crawford said asking people if they wanted pristine waterways was pointless unless they knew the true cost of achieving it.
"It would take so much money it wouldn't be funny.
With everything we do there is a trade-off," he said.
Panel members Duncan Butcher, Clive Geddes and David Shepherd said farmers were not solely targeted in respect of water quality.
They said the point of proposed changes was to ensure landowners and users were aware of the impact their activities had on waterways and that they would strive to meet discharge standards if that was possible.
"It's not the Draconian measure that people think, and actually the standards proposed are more forgiving than those in other areas of New Zealand and the world," Mr Geddes said.
